User:SofiaM80/Memory conformity

Memory conformity occurs when a person's memory report influences another's. A person is more likely to alter their memory report of an event to be consistent with another person when their internal evidence is weak and the information that influences the memory comes from a credible source.

The degree to which participants conform alter their memory reports, or engage in memory conformity, can be predicted by their levels of interrogative suggestibility (IS). The IS is measured using the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2, which allows for measures of yield, which measures how susceptible people are to altering memory reports of events because of leading questions, and shift, which measures how susceptible people are to changing responses to questions when pressure is placed on them to do so. Only yield has been found to be a significant predictor of memory conformity.

Normative:

A study analyzed which characteristics of dialogue, specifically in regard to response order from participants, had an effect on or predicted memory conformity. The study showed that the first member to report an element of their memory was resistant to influence, even when the memory was disputed by another person. In contrast, the person who was not the first to mention a detail were more likely to be influenced and subsequently report what the other person had seen, even if the memory report differed in detail to what they had themselves seen. Researchers suggested that normative conformity may have influenced the changes in memory reports because individuals wanted to appear to be in agreement with other around them in order to create a smooth interaction and increase their chances of being liked.

Informational:

One study considered the effect on memory conformity when participants had to discuss information was encountered that omitted, added to, or contradicted originally encoded items. This study revealed that people are more likely to be influenced when encountering an additional item or detail in their memory, in comparison to omitted or contradictory manipulations. Researchers speculated that the uncertainty and debate that occurred in trials surrounding the confirmation of additional information supplied by another person convinced them that they had missed particular details, likely due to a lapse in attention, that ultimately led to altering their memory report. With the motivation participants had to be accurate in their reporting, informational influence was suspected to have played a role in the increased conformity that was found in this experiment.

Age:

A different study that investigated memory conformity effects between individuals who witnessed and then discussed a criminal event found no age-related differences in susceptibility to memory conformity effects in younger (18-30 years) as compared to older (60-80 years) participants. In this study, participants watched a unique video that contained items that were only seen by them and then assigned to a group that either took a recall test immediately (control) or a group that discussed the event before recalling details. 71%, a significant proportion of participants who discussed the event prior to recall, mistakenly recalled items that they had acquired during the discussion.