"I didn’t see an iPod, but you did – so I’ll say I did, too": exploring source memory and subjective experiences accompanying memory conformity

• Main Author: Azad, Tanjeem
• Other Authors: Lindsay, D. Stephen
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: source memory; subjective experiences; co-witness discussion; false reports; MORI technique; misinformation effect; memory conformity; UVic Subject Index::Sciences and Engineering::Psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/2162

Memory conformity effects occur when witnesses report misleading suggestions they learned about from another witness. Using a new paradigm the present thesis investigated whether what subject-witnesses report about an event also implies what they personally remember or know about that event. Subjects were tested in pairs, with each member of a pair shown a different version of a video using the MORI technique. There were critical details (e.g., theft of an iPod) in each of the following conditions: visible to only one member of each subject spair, visible to both members of the pair, and not visible to either member of the pair. Pairs subsequently completed a questionnaire together to remember details from the video. Subjects then individually completed a similar questionnaire. A source monitoring and subjective experiences test revealed that co-witness discussion does not necessarily lead people to experience illusory recollections for details they did not witness themselves.