What happened
You studied themed evidence lists, then judged a recognition set containing studied items, unrelated foils, and the critical lures. Your false-alarm rate to lures, and your confidence in them, is the reconstructive signature.
Why it happened
Each studied associate spreads activation to the shared theme node. At test, that accumulated activation is misattributed to actual presentation, a source-monitoring failure. The gist trace ('this was about sleep') is real; the specific memory is manufactured.
Experimental design
Research protocol
Within-subjects; Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) list learning
- Independent variable (IV)
- Semantic relatedness of studied lists to an unpresented critical lure
- Dependent variable(s) (DV)
- False recognition rate to critical lures
- False recall rate
- Confidence judgments (remember/know)
- Measured constructs
- Episodic memorySource monitoringSemantic activation
- Operational definitions
Critical lure
High-associate theme word never presented during study but predicted by list items
False memory
Subjective recollection or recognition of an event that did not occur
Gist trace
Abstract meaning representation shared across list words (e.g., sleep-related concepts)
- Key terms
DRM paradigm
Lists of associates converging on a critical lure; reliably induces false recognition (Roediger & McDermott, 1995).
Spreading activation
Semantic priming whereby studied words activate related nodes, including the lure.
Remember vs. know
Subjective distinction between recollective detail (remember) and familiarity without context (know).
The original experiment
Year
1995
Researchers
Henry L. Roediger III · Kathleen B. McDermott
Sample
Two experiments, 36 and 30 undergraduates
Key finding
Critical lures were falsely recalled on 40–55% of lists and falsely recognized at rates comparable to studied words.
Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21(4), 803–814.
Where this shows up in the world
Eyewitness testimony: confidence is not a reliable index of accuracy
Interview technique: leading associates can implant detail
Therapeutic and legal standards for recovered-memory claims
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