Misrepresentations and flawed logic about the prevalence of false memories

Abstract

Brewin and Andrews (2016) propose that just 15% of people, or even fewer, are susceptible to false childhood memories. If this figure were true, then false memories would still be a serious problem. But the figure is higher than 15%. False memories occur even after a few short and low-pressure interviews, and with each successive interview they become richer, more compelling, and more likely to occur. It is therefore dangerously misleading to claim that the scientific data provide an “upper bound” on susceptibility to memory errors. We also raise concerns about the peer review process.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3265
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences
Additional Information: © 2016 The Authors Applied Cognitive Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology,Developmental and Educational Psychology,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Publication ISSN: 1099-0720
Last Modified: 25 Mar 2024 08:18
Date Deposited: 18 Jul 2016 13:30
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Letter
Published Date: 2017-01
Published Online Date: 2016-10-14
Accepted Date: 2016-07-06
Submitted Date: 2016-07-06
Authors: Nash, Robert A. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-2284-2001)
Wade, Kimberley A.
Garry, Maryanne
Loftus, Elizabeth F.
Ost, James

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