Malleability of memory and perception in young adults

Abstract

Two experimental studies were conductedto investigate the malleability of memory and perception in young adults. One hundred and twenty four young adultsin the age range of 20–30 years participated in the studies. In Study 1, the classic misinformation paradigm was used, during which participants first viewed a video, and were then given misinformation about what they had viewed in the form of misleading questions. The visual reproduction sub-test of the WMS-R was administered to the participants, to look at the relationship between visual memory and the misinformation effect. In Study 2, the participants were divided into three groups, each receiving a set of questions that differed in their linguistic framing. The results showed that misleading questions were able to create false memories in young adults. It was also seen that better visual memory did not protect against the misinformation effect, though it did mildly indicate a lower memory lapse. There was also a change in perception of length of time between questions that used different adjectives.