Citation

Wright DB, Busnello RH, Buratto LG, Stein LM. Acta Psychol. 2012; 141(1): 78-85.

Affiliation

Psychology Department, Florida International University, 11200 S.W. 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.06.008

PMID

22864310

Abstract

Pairs of participants were shown photographs which varied in terms of valence from negative to positive, and two days later, together, they were given a memory recognition test. When the first person responded the second person saw the response. This affected how the second person responded, what is called memory conformity. The memory conformity effect was larger for previously unseen stimuli (fillers) than for previously seen stimuli (targets), and was greatest for those with low scores on a social avoidance measure. While memory for negative (and most arousing) stimuli was most accurate, the memory conformity effect did not differ significantly by the stimulus valence. Implications for theories of memory malleability and for assessing the reliability of memories in a forensic context are discussed.

Language: en