The corrective effects of warning on false memories in the DRM paradigm are limited to full attention conditions

M.J.V. Peters*, M. Jelicic, B. Gorski, K. Sijstermans, T.M. Giesbrecht, H.L.G.J. Merckelbach

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Effects of attention control and forewarning on the activation and monitoring of experimentally induced false memories in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm were investigated in a young adult sample (N = 77), We found that reducing the degree of attention during encoding led to a decrease in veridical recall and an increase in non-presented critical lure intrusions. This effect could not be counteracted by a forewarning instruction. However, these findings did not emerge in a (retrieval supportive) recognition task. It seems that divided attention increases false recall when attention control and forewarning have to compete for limited cognitive resources in a generative free recall as opposed to a retrieval supportive recognition task. Forewarning instructions do not always protect young adults against experimentally induced false memories.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)308-314
JournalActa Psychologica
Volume129
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2008

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