What`s the Matter with Memory?

What’s the Matter with
Memory?
Eli b h F.
Elizabeth
F Loftus
L f
University of California, Irvine
Doug Nelson Festschrift
March 2008
March,
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
Memory and Cognitive Psychology in general
Psychology, in general
Memory and Cognitive Psychology in general
Psychology, in general
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
Got his Ph.D. in 1967
Was in her 2nd year of graduate school.
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
the influence of pre‐
existing knowledge on
existing knowledge on the recall and recognition of recently experienced information.
the influence of post‐event
Information on the recall and
Information on the recall and recognition of experienced events.
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
Free Association Norms
Recognition & Recall
Aging and Memory
False Memory
PIER Model
False Memory
False Memory
Last updated 2002
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
the influence of pre‐
existing knowledge on
existing knowledge on the recall and recognition of recently experienced information.
the influence of post‐event
Information on the recall and
Information on the recall and recognition of experienced events.
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
Contributions of P h l
Psychology to Mathematics and Science Education
Science Education
Legal System
Aging
g g & Cognition
g
Psychotherapy Practices
I
Innocence
Project
P j
As of Feb 17, 2008:
-- 213 DNA exonerations
-- Eyewitness error is the single most
important cause of wrongful
imprisonment.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
“Do
Do you swear to
tell the truth, the
whole
h l truth,
h or
whatever it is you
you remember?”
think y
Doug’s interests
Beth’s interests
the influence of pre‐
existing knowledge on
existing knowledge on the recall and recognition of recently experienced information.
the influence of post‐event
Information on the recall and
Information on the recall and recognition of experienced events.
Research on Memory
y Distortion
Changing Memory for Actual Events
Research on Memory Distortion –
The Misinformation Effect
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Control
Misled
Dougg --- at that time
Research
h on Memory Distortion
Planting entirely false memories
M
Memory
IImplantation
l t ti
When you were
about ten, your
family went for a
camping trip to
Totoranui for two
weeks with Gill and
her family, John
and Liz, and your
grandparents. You
made a lot of
friends at the
campsite and
campsite,
spent most of the
time with them and
Bevan.
When you were
about four, your
family went for a
tramp at Smith’s
creek near Kaitoke.
Ben’s friend Sisko
also went with you.
You set up tents by
the river, and while
you were there you
swam in the river,
and cooked
pancakes over the
fire.
You, your mom,
and your brother
went to Kmart. You
were 5 years old.
Your mom g
gave
each of you some
money to get a
blueberry Icee.
You ran ahead to
get into the line
first, and lost your
way in the store
store.
Your mom found
you crying to an
elderly woman.
When you were
about four years
old, and Dan was
about seven, your
familyy went for a
trip to Christchurch,
to your Uncle
John’s wedding.
After the service
you walked to the
Avon river where
the bride and
groom rode a
gondola down to
the reception.
Event 1
Event 2
Event 3
Event 4
Loftus & Pickrell, 1995
False Memory Rate: 25%
More Planted Memories
•Overnight hospitalization (Hyman: 20%)
•Accident
A id t att Wedding
W ddi (Hyman:
•Serious
S i
animal
i l attack
tt k
25%)
UBC: 26% com 30% par
•Rescued
R
d by
b lifeguard
lif
d (Tenn:
Heaps & Nash) - 37%
More Planted Memories
•Hot Air Balloon Ride
(New Zealand: Wade
Wade, Garry et al)
Wade, Garry, Read, Lindsay (2002)
More Planted Memories
• “Familial-Informant false-narrative
procedure” (Lindsay et al,
procedure
al 2004)
•“Family-member confederate paradigm”
(Blandon-Gitlin, 2007 (Munsterberg)
More Planted Memories
“Lost-the-mall” procedure
Other Techniques for
Planting False Memories
Imagination
Dream Interpretation
Hypnosis
F l iinformation
False
f
ti
Impossible Memories
Met Bugs at Disneyland
(without Bugs Detectors)
60
P e rrc e ntage
50
40
36
30
20
9
10
0
Generic
Bugs
g Ad
Condition
Grinley
Memories of Bugs
• Shook
Sh k hi
his hhand
d
•
•
•
•
62%
Hugged him
46%
Touched his ear
23%
Touched his tail
23%
Heard “What’s up doc.” 23%
• Holding
H ldi a carrot
n=1
Hugged by Bugs? Yes
but Molested by Mickey?
Licked by Pluto
Berkowitz, Laney, Morris, Garry, Loftus
(2008)
False Feedback:
Bad Newspaper Article
ANAHEIM, California (AP) Last Tuesday,
ANAHEIM
Tuesday the
Disneyland Resort released file records of all employees
who violated the employee code of conduct during the
1980’s and 1990’s. …The man dressed up as the Disney
character Pluto. The employee… had abused
hallucinogenic drugs, while on the clock for Disney. As a
result, the Pluto character apparently developed a habit of
inappropriately licking the ears of many young visitors
with his large fabric tongue.
tongue Records show that Pluto
Pluto’ss
disturbing behavior went largely unnoticed by
management for several years… In one of the last visitor
complaints, a parent stated, “It was obvious that my son
was uncomfortable with Pluto’s persistent licking….”
Who believed the feedback?
Liberal definition:
Denyy at first,, then report
p Memory
y
or Belief
30% - Bad Pluto
39% - Good Pluto
Disneyland Questionnaire Consequences
What is the most you are willing to pay for each of
the following Disney souvenirs?
11. Disneyland postcard
12. Keychain
13. Mickey Mouse magnet
14. Donald Duck coffee mug
15 Pl
15.
Pluto stuffed
ff d animal
i l
16. Winnie the Pooh t-shirt
17 Tigger boxer shorts
17.
Nothing 25¢ 50¢ 75¢ $1 $1.25 $1.50 $2
Nothing $1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
$7
Nothing $1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
$7
Nothing $2
$4
$6
$8 $10 $12 $14
Nothing $5
$ $$10 $$15 $20
$
$25
$
$30
$
$35
$
Nothing $5 $10 $15 $20 $25 $30 $40
Nothing $5 $10 $15 $20 $25 $30 $40
Consequences - Willingness to
pay for a Pluto Stuffed Animal
16
Mean Rating
15
14
Controls
13
Bad Pluto Believers
12
Good Pluto Believers
11
10
9
Session 1
Session 2
Conservative Believers
and Controls All Subjects
'Tigger' arrested on molestation charges
Costumed character at Disney
y World charged
g with fondling
g girl,
g mother.
Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators have arrested a Walt Disney World employee
who worked as the character "Tigger" and charged him with molesting a 13-year-old girl
and her mother while posing with them for pictures in February.
Michael
Mi
h l Ch
Chartrand,
t d 36
36, was charged
h
d with
ith one countt off llewd
d and
d llascivious
i i
molestation
l t ti off a
child between 12 and 15 years old and one count of simple battery.
"As
photo
was
[the
He was booked
intothe
the Orange
County
Jailbeing
today on taken,
a $2,500 bond.
victim]
claims that Tigger moved his right hand up
A Disney spokeswoman said Chartrand has been suspended without pay
pay.
to her right breast and started massaging
The sheriff's it
office
received a
complaint that
character
at Disney
World had
several
times,"
thea costumed
incident
report
states.
touched a girl and her mother inappropriately while their pictures were being taken with the
[The
victim]
became
very
embarrassed
andof the girl
character Feb.
21. According
to an
incident report,
Chartrand
fondled the breasts
and the mother
while posingof
for pictures
at the Magicand
Kingdom's
Toon Town.
ashamed
the incident
claims
that
did taken,
not say
anything
hermoved
mother
"As the photoshe
was being
[the victim]
claims thatto
Tigger
his rightuntil
hand up to
her right breast
and started
massaging
it several times," the incident report states. [The
they
left the
park."
victim] became very embarrassed and ashamed of the incident and claims that she did not
say anything-------------------------------------------------------------to her mother until they left the park."
-------------------------------------------------------------Later, the girl learned that the costumed character had done the same thing to her mother
-------------------------------------------------------------with his left hand,
the report says.
-------------------------------------------------------------In a charging affadavit filed in court, police wrote that Chartrand told them he had trouble
remembering-------------------------------------------------------------things
things, but was "very
very sorry for everything that had occurred,
occurred " and hoped the
victim would ------------------------------forgive him for what he had done.
The girl and her father reported the incident on Feb. 29.
Not Guiltyy
Consequences of
False Memory
Profile for:
Alan Alda
After you sent the completed personality and food questionnaires to
us, we entered your data into a computer and generated a profile of
your early childhood experiences with certain foods
foods. From the data
you provided, the computer generated the following profile.
As a young child:
1) you disliked spinach
2) you enjoyed fried foods
3) you felt sick after eating hard
hard-boiled
boiled eggs
4) eating chocolate birthday cake made you
happy
Actual Study
• Find People who Denied having gotten sick
on eggs or pickles
• False feedback suggesting they had gotten
sick
• Believers - increased confidence they got
sick and claim to have Memory or Belief.
»
Bernstein, Laney, Morris & Loftus,
Social Cognition 2005
Party Behavior Questionnaire
Imagine that you are at an afternoon barbeque party with 100 guests.
… After a bit of a swim in the host’s pool, you see another table with snacks. How
likely are you to pick each of the nibblers below?
definitely no
Green olives on toothpicks
Potato chips
S di
Sardines
on melba
lb toast
Dill pickle spears
Tortilla chips with salsa
Stuffed mushrooms
Salted hard boiled eggs
gg
Carrots with ranch dip
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
maybe
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
definitely yes
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
Consequences: Party Behavior
5
Mean Rating
4.5
No Feedback
4
Did Not Believe
Feedback
Believed Feedback
35
3.5
3
2.5
2
Dill Pickle Spears
Hard-Boiled Egg
Bernstein et al., Social Cognition
Conclusion:
• It is possible to plant false
memories of getting sick on a
particular food, and these
memories have consequences for
subjects.
subjects
Would
ld it
i workk with
iha
fattening food?
Profile for:
Mary Smith
After you left the lab last week, we entered your responses to the
personality and food questionnaires into our computer and
generated a profile of your early childhood experiences with certain
foods. From the data you provided, the computer generated the
following profile.
As a young child:
1) you disliked spinach
2) you enjoyed eating bananas
3) you felt ill after eating strawberry ice cream
4) you felt happy when a classmate brought
sweets to school
Elaboration Exercise
Consider the following item from your profile: You got sick after
eating strawberry ice cream
Directions: Think about your memory of this experience. If you
don’t have a specific memory, imagine what might have
happened.
pp
Then answer the followingg questions,
q
, in some
detail, regarding the item listed above.
1.
1
2.
3.
4
4.
How old were you?
Where did it occur? And what were you doing at the time?
Who were you with?
H did iit make
How
k you feel?
f l?
Consequences: Party Behavior
5.8
5.6
Mean
n Rating
54
5.4
No Feedback
5.2
Did Not Believe
Feedback
Believed Feedback
5
4.8
4.6
4.4
4.2
4
StrawberryElaboration
Post-test data only; Bernstein et
al, PNAS, 2005
In their battle against the bulge, desperate dieters have tried
drugs, surgery, exercise, counseling, creams and even electrical
fat-burning belts.
Now some psychologists have a new idea: Telling lies.
A team led by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus of the University of
California found it could persuade people to avoid fattening foods
by implanting unpleasant childhood memories about the food even though the event never happened.
In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, the team said it successfully turned people off
strawberry ice cream. In earlier studies it did the same with
pickles
i kl and
dh
hard-boiled
d b il d eggs - in
i each
h case, by
b manipulating
i l ti
the
th
subjects into believing the foods made them sick when they were
children.
The scientists say they have also successfully implanted positive
p
about asparagus
p
g
by
y convincing
g subjects
j
that they
y once
opinions
loved the vegetable.
Losing weight through suggestion
Reuters
August 03, 2005
IT might be possible to talk a dieter into hating strawberry ice cream
cream, but it may be
impossible to help people lose their cravings for more popular snacks such as
chocolate chip cookies.
A study on the power of suggestion found that people could be falsely persuaded
that they had once become sick eating strawberry ice cream as children - and they
later said they would avoid this food.
"We believe this new finding may have significant implications for dieting," said
Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who specialises in memory and suggestion at the
University of California Irvine.
Irvine
Professor Loftus and colleagues at the University of Washington and Kwantlen
University College in Washington experimented with more than 200 volunteers,
mostly students, who did not know the goal of the study.
They used what is called a false feedback technique.
News-Medical.Net
So you thought you liked strawberry ice
cream!!
False memories helps to keep fit, researchers say
Manipulating
M
i l ti
the
th mind
i d to
t alter
lt
the
th
shape of the body
We can learn to hate ice
ice-cream
cream - but not
cookies
False Memories Fight Flab
News Front Page > Health
Forget Atkins -- False Memories Fight Flab, Study Says
James Owen
for National Geographic News
August 2, 2005
Just as the Atkins diet fad goes belly up—the Atkins Nutritionals company filed for bankruptcy on Sunday—a new, mind-bending anti-obesity technique may be on the way.
The potential treatment relies not on diets, medications, or workouts but on tricks played on the mind.
The Mental Diet
Think you like ice cream? Let me tell you a story
As every weight-loss veteran knows -- and too many parents of overweight kids are
learning--the most fattening foods are often the most comforting, conjuring up memories of
sweet treats and celebrations. That's why there was so much interest last week in a report
out of the University of California, Irvine that suggests a new approach to thinking about
food: brainwashing
brainwashing.
Or, as Elizabeth Loftus prefers to call it, planting false memories. Loftus is famous in
psychological circles for her controversial work investigating claims of child and sexual
abuse. She was able to show that people can be persuaded to remember terrible things
that never happened. Could the same power of suggestion change a dieter's appetite?
To test that thesis, Loftus and her assistants g
gave 131 students a questionnaire about their
food preferences and experiences. Members of one group were told, falsely, that at some
point in their childhood strawberry ice cream had made them sick. The researchers then
encouraged the students to elaborate, asking them where they were when they got sick
and who else witnessed the episode. When questioned later about which foods they
wanted to eat, 41% of this group said they would avoid strawberry ice cream.
"Wh t we've
"What
' shown
h
is
i that
th t we can plant
l t a false
f l b
belief
li f or memory, and
d th
thatt h
has
consequences in terms of what we choose to eat," says Loftus. She showed similar results
in the vegetable section of the food pyramid, giving people a taste for asparagus by
conning them into thinking that they liked it as children.
Would a mind-over-matter diet really work? Loftus doesn't know yet; she's still trying to
figure out how long these effects last
last. But
But, she says
says, "nothing
nothing would stop a parent of an
overweight child from trying this out on their kid"--as long as parents don't expect miracles.
Weight control, after all, involves a devilishly complex combination of genes, biology and
the environment. But every little bit helps when you are dieting--even the power of
suggestion.
From the Aug. 15, 2005 issue of TIME magazine
“Would a mind-over-matter diet really
work? Loftus doesn't know yet; she's still
trying to figure out how long these effects
last. But, she says, "nothing would stop a
parent of an overweight child from trying
this out on their kid"--as long as parents
don't expect miracles. “
Th N
The
New Y
Yorkk Ti
Times M
Magazine
i
December 11, 2005
The 5th Annual Year in Ideas
False Memory Diet, The
By John Glassie. Published December 11, 2005
Th New
The
N w York
Y k Ti
Timess
Magazine
According to the results of a study released in August, it possible to convince people that
they don’t like fattening foods. - by giving them false memories of experiences in which
those foods made them sick…..
December 11, 2005
The process of implanting false memories is relatively simple
simple. In essence
essence, according to
the paper that Loftus’ team published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, subjects are plied with “misinformation” about their food histories. But a number
of obstacles remain before members of the general population can use this technique to
stay thin. Attempts to implant memories about potato chips and chocolate-chip cookes,
for example, failed. “When yyou have so manyy recent, ,frequent, and positive experiences
with a food,” Loftus explains, “one negative thought is not enough to overcome them.”
“More work is needed to determine If
the false memory effect is lasting and if
it is strong enough to withstand the
More work ispresence
needed to determine
if the actual
false memory
effect isof
lasting
of an
bowl
iceand if it is strong
enough to withstand the presence of an actual bowl of icec ream. It’s also not clear at this
cream.
It istoalso
clear…how
point, how people
could choose
undergonot
the process
without therebypeople
becoming less
vulnerable
l
bl tto thi
this ki
kind
d off suggestion.
ti
could choose to undergo the process
From the Dec 11, 2005 issue of New York Times Magazine
without thereby becoming less
vulnerable to this kind of suggestion.”
Lasting False Memories
Geraerts, Bernstein, Merckelbach et al (2008)
Mean Food H
History Inv
ventory Rating
8
7
Control
Non-Believers
Non
Believers
Believers
6
5
4
3
2
1
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Mean Num
M
mber Egg salad Sa ndwiches
s Consum
med
0.6
Control
Non-Believers
Believers
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
01
0.1
0
Session 2
Session 3
Shakespeare
“Who can…..
cloy the hungry edge of appetite
By bare imagination of a feast?”
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
Can we convince
C
i
people
l to
t
eat more of something
healthy?
Laney, Morris, Bernstein, Wakefield, Loftus (in press)
Restaurant Questionnaire
Imagine that you are at a nice restaurant for a special dinner. How
likely are you to order each of the items on the menu below,
assuming that price is not an object?
Le Restaurant
Hand-breaded tiger shrimp
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Spicy tortilla soup
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
G ill d fillet
Grilled
fill t mignon
i
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Sautéed asparagus spears
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Five layer chocolate fudge cake
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Findings & Conclusions
• W
We created
t d false
f l memories
i off loving
l i a food
f d
the first time it was eaten
• Those subjects who bought the
manipulation embraced a healthy food more
• The manipulation makes a photo of the food
seem more appetizing and less disgusting
“It’s broccoli, dear!”
“I say it’s spinach, and I say the
h ll with
hell
ith it
it.”
”
The New Yorker December 8, 1928
A Desirable Case Study
“I do not like broccoli…”
I do not like broccoli. And I
h
haven't
't lik
liked
d it since
i
I was a little
littl
kid and my mother made me eat
it. And I'm President of the United
States and
a d I'm not
ot going
go g to eat
any more broccoli.
George H. W. Bush
“mmm…broccoli is one of my favorite veges…”
True versus False Memories
Two research projects
True vs. False Memories
Emotional Memories
Laney & Loftus, 2008
Alien Abduction Memories
“emotional responding during recollection
provides
id no guarantee
t th
thatt th
the memory is
i
veridical,” (McNally et al., 2004, p. 146)
Three Emotional Events
• As
A a child
hild younger than
th 12:
12
• You were hospitalized overnight.
• You caught your parents having sex.
• You witnessed a physically violent fight
between your parents.
False memories
• Hospital
H i l item
i
• Sex
S it
item
• Fight item
38.5%
38 5%
20.3%
20 3%
14.6%
14 6%
Emotionality of False Memories
Comparing true and false
memories
i on amountt andd
kind of subjective emotion.
Mea
an Confid
dence Ra
ating
Emotionality of True and False
Memories
1 = not at all emotional
7 = more emotional than anything else
Emotionality of True and False Memories
(P test))
(Post
7.000
Mean
n Rating
6.000
5.000
4.000
True
False
3 000
3.000
``
2.000
1 000
1.000
0.000
Hospital
p
Item
1 = not at all emotional
7 = more emotional than anything else
Sex Item
Fight
g Item
Conclusions
• False memories can be
emotional.
ti l
• In fact,
c , they
ey can
c be just
jus ass
emotional as true memories.
• So,
S emotion
i is
i no guarantee off
y
memoryy accuracy.
True vs. False Memories
Neuroimaging During Report
Okado, Loftus, Stark, 2006; Okado & Stark, 2006
True vs. False
•Encoding: Saw original and heard misinformation
•True: “Yes, Saw” to Original
•False: “Yes
Yes, Saw”
Saw to Misinformation
Differences observed in early stages of sensory
processing
Conclusions
• TM and FM similar in terms of
•
brain activity.
TM – more activity in visual cortex,
cortex
FM – more in auditory
• Prefrontal and hippocampal regions
slightly more active for TM than FM
Implications
• Theoretical (Nature of Memory)
False Memory Recipe
• Make potential event plausible
• Create “belief”
belief that event happened
• Embellish belief with sensory detail
Implications
• Theoretical (Nature of Memory)
• Practical
– Nutritional Selection
Implications
• Theoretical (Nature of Memory)
• Practical
– Nutritional Selection
– Legal Reforms
For More Articles
A i l andd
Information, visit my
UCI website:
www.seweb.uci.edu/faculty/loftus/