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virus: From Kissing Frogs To Demonic Possession, People Are Led To Believe They Experienced The Improbable
« on: 2003-02-18 12:09:31 » |
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>From Kissing Frogs To Demonic Possession, People Are Led To Believe They
Experienced The Improbable
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/02/030217115223.htm
Irvine, Calif. -- During a recent study of memory recall and the use of
suggestive interviewing, UC Irvine cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus
successfully planted false memories in volunteers of several study groups --
memories that included such unlikely events as kissing frogs, shaking hands
with Bugs Bunny at Disneyland, and witnessing a demonic possession.
Her success at planting these memories challenge the argument that
suggestive interviewing may reliably prompt real memories instead of
planting false ones. A pioneer in false memory research and Distinguished
Professor of Social Ecology at UCI, Loftus will present her latest research
at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in
Denver at the "Remembering Traumatic Experiences in Childhood: Reliability
and Limitations of Memory" symposium beginning at 2:30 p.m. MST Sunday, Feb.
16.
Loftus conducted her study by having volunteers conduct a set of actions
that mixed the common place (flipping a coin) with the unusual and even
bizarre (crushing a Hershey's kiss with a dental floss container). Later,
her research team asked volunteers to imagine additional actions they
performed that day, such as kissing a frog. At a future time, participants
were asked to recall their actions on that specific day[j1]. Ayanna Thomas,
a doctoral student in Loftus' research group, found that 15 percent of the
study's volunteers claimed they had actually performed some of the actions
they had only imagined.
In another study, Loftus showed how false memories can be planted with a
visual. Loftus and her colleagues exposed volunteers to a fake print
advertisement describing a visit to Disneyland where they would meet Bugs
Bunny. Later, 33 percent of these volunteers claimed they knew or remembered
the event happening to them. (Bugs Bunny is a Warner Bros. character and has
never appeared at Disneyland.) The false memory rate was boosted when people
were given multiple exposures to the fake advertisement. In one study, 36
percent of those given three exposures said they met Bugs Bunny, compared to
only 9 percent in a control condition. Loftus' collaborators on this study
included Kathryn Braun-LaTour, Melissa Grinley and Jacquie Pickrell.
These studies continue three decades of research by Loftus proving that
memory is highly susceptible to distortion and contamination. Her past work
has shown that people can be led to remember rather familiar or common
experiences, even when these experiences likely had not occurred. Much of
Loftus's work has focused on false claims of repressed memories of sexual
abuse. She also has shown that eyewitness accounts, notably those given in
court, often are inaccurate. Loftus has served as an expert witness or
consultant on some of the nation's most high-profile trials, including the
McMartin Pre-school molestation case, the "Hillside Strangler" case, the
police officers involved in the Rodney King beating and the Bosnian War
Trials.
Ranked among the 25 psychologists most frequently cited in introductory
psychology textbooks, Loftus is the author of "Eyewitness Testimony," which
won a National Media Award, and co-author of the widely cited book, "The
Myth of Repressed Memory."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued for journalists
and other members of the public. If you wish to quote any part of this
story, please credit University Of California - Irvine as the original
source. You may also wish to include the following link in any citation:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/02/030217115223.htm
------------
Regards
Jonathan
http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/
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