Denial-Induced Forgetting: False Denials Undermine Memory, But External Denials Undermine Belief

Henry Otgaar,Mark L Howe,Tom Smeets,Jianqin Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.04.002

Henry Otgaar, Mark L Howe + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.04.002

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Abstract

We examined the mnemonic effects of false denials. In a previous experiment (Otgaar, Howe, Memon, & Wang, 2014), false denials resulted in participants denying that they talked about details with the experimenter when in fact they did. This denial-induced forgetting (DIF) was further examined. In Experiment 1, participants received pictures and their belief and memory for details were tested. In the false denial group, participants had to falsely deny in response to each question. In the external denial group, an experimenter falsely denied to the participants that certain details were present. The control group had to answer the questions honestly. We found evidence for DIF. In Experiment 2, we used a video and again found DIF. Moreover, when the experimenter provided external denials, nonbelieved memory rates increased. Together, our experiments suggest that false denials undermine memory while external denials appear to reduce belief.

Highlights

Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience
We found that external denials elevated nonbelieved memory rates, this was not statistically significant
We found, as predicted, that the denial-induced forgetting (DIF) effect only appeared for details concerning the interview but was absent for the recollections of the video (F(3, 96) = 2.10, p = .11, ŋ2partial = .06)

Summary

Introduction

Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. In a previous experiment (Otgaar, Howe, Memon, & Wang, 2014), false denials resulted in participants denying that they talked about details with the experimenter when they did. This denial-induced forgetting (DIF) was further examined. In the external denial group, an experimenter falsely denied to the participants that certain details were present. In the false denial group, participants had to falsely deny in response to each of the questions They had to falsely deny that certain details were shown in the video (e.g., “The man did not steal anything”). Forcing participants to falsely deny impaired memory for the interview This latter effect is labeled denial-induced forgetting (DIF)

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