Simulation, false memories, and the planning of future events

Dewhurst, Stephen A.; Anderson, Rachel J.; Grace, Lydia; Howe, David

Abstract

Three experiments investigated the relationship between future thinking and false memories. In Experiment 1, participants remembered familiar events (e.g., a holiday) from their past, imagined planning the same events in the future, or took part in a control condition in which they visualized typical events. They then rated a series of schema-related and schema-unrelated nouns for how likely they were to be encountered within those events. In a surprise recognition test, participants in the future condition falsely recognized more schema-related items than participants in the past and control conditions. No reliable effects of rating condition were observed in correct recognition. Experiment 2 found the same pattern when participants imagined unfamiliar events (e.g., taking part in a bank robbery) from past or future perspectives. Participants in Experiment 3 remembered a past or imagined a future holiday and were then instructed to generate items that someone might take on a holiday. Participants in the future condition generated more nonstudied items and fewer studied items relative to participants in the past condition. The findings of Experiments 1 and 2 indicate that simulating future events enhances the activation of related items that gives rise to false memories. The findings of Experiment 3 suggest that these activation processes play an adaptive role in guiding the planning of future events.

Citation

Dewhurst, S. A., Anderson, R. J., Grace, L., & Howe, D. (2019). Simulation, false memories, and the planning of future events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 45(1), 26-36. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000575

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 24, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Apr 26, 2018
• Publication Date: 2019-01
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: May 10, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
• Print ISSN: 0278-7393
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 26-36
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000575
• Keywords: False memory; Future thinking; Simulation; Planning
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/559589
• Publisher URL: http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxlm0000575
• Contract Date: May 10, 2018