Suggestibility as a Predictor in Forming False

Memories
By Carmen Chereches
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate if suggestibility is a predictive
factor in creating false memories. The participants were 30 undergraduate
psychology students that were administered the SSS, Short version of the
Multidimensional Iowa Suggestibility Scale and DRM word recognition task.
The results were supporting the prediction that the more suggestible a
subject is, the higher the risk to develop false memories.
Introduction
Many people fail to understand how common false memories are.
Some people are very easily influenced by suggestions; which in turn can
create false memories. Those are memories of events that never
happened (Loftus, 1997).
The False Memory Syndrome got a lot of attention lately and
researchers have started to ask what type of people is inclined to develop
these memories. Memory is a complicated process, memories are
encoded and retrieved and they are subject to alteration. Each time we
remember a situation or an event, the memory is based on the previous
recall, not the event itself (Read& Lindsay, 2000). Research on false
memory is very important in eyewitness testimony; accusations of sexual
abuse in childhood. There is evidence that indicates that questioning

techniques can alter the witnesses memories (Supreme Court Reporter,

1973). An example is given by Loftus (1973) which showed that when
people are exposed to misleading information or leading questions, they
form

distorted

memories.

She

conducted

an

experiment

where

participants were showed a video of a car crash and a memory of glass

shattered were implanted.

This led to an expanded research: the

shopping mall experiment where 29% of participant believed that they

were lost in a mall when children (Loftus & Pickrell, 1995); Hayman,
Husband and Billings (1995) demonstrated that 20% of participants
believed that they were in hospital as children after the memory was
implanted.
One of the most widely used tests to study false memories is the
DRM test (Deese-Roediger-McDermott). This paradigm is used to develop
false memories for words; when participants are presented a group of
associated words (arctic, snow, winter, ice, etc.), they mistakenly present
words that were not present like cold (related lure). Miller and Wolford
(1999) suggest that participants are prone to errors due to the association
of the words. This theory was contradicted by Wixted and Stretch (2000)
which suggested that signal detection theory may be involved in false
memory (estimate of response bias). In 1974 Loftus and Palmer
demonstrated in an experiment that people are susceptible to false
memories in several experiments.

Eysenck (1991) suggested that

suggestibility is a layered process that includes intelligence, memory,

compliance and dissociation and those individual differences are very
important to determine the level of suggestibility.

The aim of this study is to infer if suggestibility is a predictive factor

in creating false memories.
Methods
The participants in this study were 30 psychology students,22
females and 8 males with age ranging from 18- 28.
Materials
Suggestibility was measured using the Short version of the
Multidimensional Iowa Suggestibility Scale (the scale is provided in
Appendix1). The participants were asked to respond to 21 questions. The
DRM paradigm was asses on the computer using the program PEBL
version 0.14 for Windows. It consists of a 24 blocks of words, with 15
words in each block, a group of associated words (arctic, snow, winter, ice,
etc) and cold being the lure word.
Procedure
Participants took the SSS Multidimensional Iowa Suggestibility scale,
followed by DRM test. Subjects were presented with the words one by one
on the screen, then asked to type in the words they remembered. The
lures were not presented.

Results
Descriptive statistics were carried to observe the data and Pearson
correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the relationship between

suggestibility and false memories and to infer if suggestibility is a

predictor in false memories. There was a moderate positive correlation
between the two variables, r = - .429, n = 30, p < .01, with high levels of
suggestibility associated increase of false memory formation, (see Table
1).
Discussions
The results indicate that suggestibility is a predictor in forming false
memories and it comes in support for other studies such as Loftus and
Palmer(1974) which showed that a simple change of words in a question,
(hit and smash) could change the people accuracy about the respective
event( car crash), and even add new elements to the event(glass).
Subjects tend to form associations with the words presented, like when
reading arctic, ice, snow, cold is typed even if the word was not present in
the list. The implications of this results are important from a legal point of
view and not only. It could raise questions about eyewitness testimony
and many cases of sexual abuse in childhood due to the interrogatory
questions format (Loftus &Ketcham, 1991).

Some limitations of the

current study are the relatively small sample of participant and the large
number of females compared with the number of males in the sample.
This may not be representative for the population.

Appendix 1
SSS
Please indicate to what extent the following statements apply to you. Use
the following scale to record your answers:
12345
not at all a little somewhat quite a bit a lot
or very slightly
______ 1. I am easily influenced by other peoples opinions
______ 2. I get a lot of good practical advice from magazines or TV
______ 3. When someone coughs or sneezes, I usually feel the urge to do
the same

______ 4. Imagining a refreshing drink can make me thirsty

______ 5. A good salesperson can really make me want their product
______ 6. I have picked-up many habits from my friends
______ 7. It is important for me to fit in
______ 8. When I see someone shiver, I often feel a chill myself
______ 9. I get my style from certain celebrities
______ 10. When people tell me how they feel, I often notice that I feel the
same way
______ 11. When making a decision, I often follow other peoples advice
______ 12. Reading descriptions of tasty dishes can make my mouth water
______ 13. I get many good ideas from others
______ 14. I can be influenced by a good commercial
______ 15. After I see a commercial for lotion, sometimes my skin feels dry
______ 16. I discovered many of my favorite things through my friends
______ 17. If a product is nicely displayed, I usually want to buy it
______ 18. Thinking about something scary can make my heart pound
______ 19. I frequently change my opinion after talking with others
______ 20. If I am told I dont look well, I start feeling ill
______ 21. I follow current fashion trends
Table 1

Descriptive Statistics
Mean
SuggestibilityScore
DRM_FalseMemories

Std. Deviation

48.0333

13.48175

30

4.1333

3.36035

30

Correlations

SuggestibilityScore

SuggestibilitySc

DRM_FalseMe

ore

mories

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)
N
DRM_FalseMemories

30

30

.429

Sig. (2-tailed)

.018

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

References

.018

Pearson Correlation

.429*

30

30

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