False Memories and Persuasion Strategies

Abstract

Research on false memories, which has increased drastically in the past decade, has mainly focused on the cognitive influences that lead to the creation of false memories, such as the theoretical causes of decreased memory strength and source confusion. Although there is certainly a cognitive component to false memories, in this article, I argue that false memories are more likely to be created with the use of persuasion strategies. Within a variety of false memory paradigms, including the misinformation effect, the imagination inflation paradigm, and false confession research, persuasion strategies help create and strengthen false memories. My conclusion is that false memories often occur without the presence of persuasion strategies, but that they are more frequent and compelling with the presence of persuasion strategies. I discuss this conclusion in relation to the source monitoring framework. I also discuss the applied implications of this research (e.g., a detective in a crime investigation “suggesting” details or an interrogator trying to elicit a confession).