Putting false memories into context: The effects of odour contexts on correct and false recall

Woods, Joshua A.; Dewhurst, Stephen A.

Abstract

False memories created by the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm are often accompanied by contextual information. Yet, research investigating the effects of context on false memories is surprisingly scarce. We used the context-dependent memory (CDM) model to construct same versus different context conditions using odours as contexts and DRM lists as to-be-remembered stimuli. Experiment 1 showed that levels of correct recall were higher in the same-context condition than in the changed-context condition, but no effects of context were observed in false recall. Experiment 2 used different odours and a longer retention interval and showed that context dependent memory effects were found for both true and false memory. For true memory, context reinstatement improved memory, whilst simultaneously reducing false memory. Theoretical and forensic implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2019
• Print ISSN: 0965-8211
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-0686
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 379-386
• APA6 Citation: Woods, J. A., & Dewhurst, S. A. (2019). Putting false memories into context: The effects of odour contexts on correct and false recall. Memory, 27(3), 379-386. doi:10.1080/09658211.2018.1512632
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2018.1512632
• Keywords: False memory; Context-dependent memory; DRM paradigm
• Publisher URL: https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09658211.2018.1512632
• Copyright Statement: ©2018 University of Hull