Suggestibility and the psychology of memory

 Suggestibility is the tendency to accept misleading information from various sources.

Suggestibility in memory is the tendency to include misleading information when recalling information from memory.

Various sources may include people, written materials, images, videos, and other stimuli.

Questions and statements by interviewers can influence eyewitnesses to make false identification or recall false information.

Psychotherapists can create false memories.

Interviewing children can lead to distorted memories, which may lead to false allegations of abuse.

Schacter (2021) notes that interviewing people who have been hypnotized can lead to inaccurate reports and increase the suggestion effect of misleading information. And hypnosis may increase witness confidence. A better approach is the cognitive interview (Fisher & Geiselman, 1984).

Cite this post

Sutton, G.W. (2022). Suggestibility and the psychology of memory. Psychology Concepts and Theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2022/01/suggestibility-and-psychology-of-memory.html 

Resources

Loftus, E. & Ketcham, K. (1994). The myth of repressed memory: False memories and allegations of sexual abuse. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 

Schacter, D. L. (2021). The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and remembers, updated edition. New York: Mariner.