Study Shows Actual Memories Can Be Created From False Events

Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
May 1, 2012

 

 

 

 

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been experimenting with implants that create false memories called a “non-believed memory”.

Two researchers in 2010, Giuliana Mazzoni and Lucy Harvey of the University of Hall in the United Kingdom have collaborated with Alan Scoboria of the University of Winsor to conduct a survey of 1,500 undergraduate students.

More than a quarter of persons surveyed believed they had a memory of an event they were sure did not actually happen.

Twenty participants in the study were filmed while they mimicked action of the researcher. The film was doctored to display only certain of the actions mimicked. Those persons were shown the film two days later. They did not notice that the film had been altered.

“Because the participants had earlier mimicked all the actions that they’d witnessed, the doctored footage gave the strong impression that they must have mimicked those two new actions even though they hadn’t. This set-up provided a powerful means of inducing false memories – 68 per cent of the participants’ memory ratings for the fake actions suggested they “remembered” performing the actions. Their belief that they’d performed these actions was similar in strength to their memories.”

When the researchers admitted to the aprticipants that they had been tricked, 25% surveyed that they remembered the forgotten memory.

Their brain concocted a false memory after the information was given to them to prove the validity of the event.

Andrew Clark, one of the researcher psychologists said, “To the extent that debriefing might not always completely ‘undo’ the effects of suggestive manipulation, we might question the ethics of inducing false memories in experimental participants. Is it ethical for participants to leave research labs with remnants of non-believed false memory content in the forefront of their minds?”

Exploration into the manipulation of this discovery is likely to follow. The creation of memories appears to be as simple as convincing an individual that the event were true, regardless of their individual recollection.

As one of the researchers so amply remarked, “. . . or, alternatively can memories form completely in the absence of belief?”

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes