Abstract
Although the literature on the influence of memory on decisions is well developed, research on the effects of decision making on memory is rather sparse and scattered. Choice-supportive misremembering (i.e., misremembering choice-related information that boosts the chosen option and/or demotes the foregone options) has been observed in several studies and has the potential to affect future choices. Nonetheless, no attempt has been made to review the relevant literature, categorize the different types of choice-supportive misremembering observed, and critically appraise the existing evidence and proposed explanations. Thus, starting from a new theoretically motivated and empirically grounded taxonomy, we review the current research. Our taxonomy classifies choice-supportive misremembering into four conceptually distinct types: misattribution is when information is attributed to the wrong source, fact distortion when the facts are remembered in a distorted manner, false memory when items that were not part of the original decision scenarios are remembered as presented and, finally, selective forgetting is when information is selectively forgotten. After assessing the impact of various potentially moderating factors, we evaluate the evidence for each type of misremembering and conclude that the support for the phenomenon is solid in relation to misattribution when recognition memory is assessed, but significantly weaker for the other three types, and when other memory tests are used to assess memory. Finally, we review the cognitive and emotional explanations proposed for choice-supportive misremembering in the light of the available evidence and identify the main gaps in the current knowledge and the more promising avenues for future research.
Highlights
Time and memory are true artists; they remold reality nearer to the heart’s desire (John Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy, 1950).Decision-making processes have been widely studied both in basic research and in applied contexts, with a significant part of recent research concerning the impact of memory processes and memory-related biases on decisions
We have presented a novel taxonomy of choicesupportive misremembering after decision making and reviewed papers where the participants make a deliberate choice between options described by multiple attributes and their memory of those attributes is tested
The evidence for choice-supportive false memories after decision making is meager and obtained mainly with a recognition paradigm, which may complicate the interpretation of the findings due to potential alternative explanations
Summary
Time and memory are true artists; they remold reality nearer to the heart’s desire (John Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy, 1950). For some of these effects, results are not fully consistent across studies and diverse explanations have been proposed Given this state of affairs, the present review has two aims: (1) to introduce a new taxonomy useful for understanding choicesupportive memory effects and their underlying processes; (2) to review the literature on choice-supportive memory and appraise the degree of support for the different aspects of the phenomenon and for the existing explanations. The novel taxonomy and the associated review offer a new unifying and clarifying perspective on rather disconnected effects and phenomena, and the potential reasons behind them This will highlight the similarities and differences between various kinds of misremembering after choice, allow an appraisal of their respective degree of empirical support, and provide more insight into the underlying processes. A strongly altered memory of past choices may affect future choices and hinder proper learning from experience and adaptation to reality
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