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Concept information

phenomenon > memory phenomenon > misinformation effect > memory conformity effect

Preferred term

memory conformity effect  

Definition

  • A phenomenon observed when “people sometimes 'conform' to another person’s version of events when discussing their recollections together, such that their subsequent individual memory reports converge and become similar.” (Gabbert & Hope, 2013, p. 64).

Broader concept

Related concepts

Synonym(s)

  • co-witness suggestibility effect
  • social contagion of memory

Scope note

  • Memory conformity is a special case of the effect of post-event information on the memory of that event. Here, the post-event information is a memory presented by another person who attended the same event. Such information has the potential to modify an individual’s initial memory after discussion.

Belongs to group

Bibliographic citation(s)

  • • Gabbert, F., & Hope, L. (2013). Suggestibility and memory conformity. In A. M. Ridley, F. Gabbert, & D. J. La Rooy (Eds.), Suggestibility in legal contexts: Psychological research and forensic implications (pp. 63–83). Wiley-Blackwell.

    • Document type: literature review

    • Access: closed

  • • Garry, M., French, L., Kinzett, T., & Mori, K. (2008). Eyewitness memory following discussion : Using the MORI technique with a Western sample. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22(4), 431‑439. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1376

    • Document type: empirical study

    • Access: closed

  • • Ito, H., Barzykowski, K., Grzesik, M., Gülgöz, S., Gürdere, C., Janssen, S. M. J., Khor, J., Rowthorn, H., Wade, K. A., Luna, K., Albuquerque, P. B., Kumar, D., Singh, A. D., Cecconello, W. W., Cadavid, S., Laird, N. C., Baldassari, M. J., Lindsay, D. S., & Mori, K. (2019). Eyewitness memory distortion following co-witness discussion : A replication of Garry, French, Kinzett, and Mori (2008) in ten countries. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 8(1), 68‑77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2018.09.004

    • Document type: empirical study

    , replication

    • Access: closed

  • • Kękuś, M., Dziubańska, R., Michalak, K., Polczyk, R., Szpitalak, M., & Barzykowski, K. (2024). Protecting against misinformation: Evaluating the effectiveness of three techniques to reduce memory conformity. British Journal of Psychology, 115(4), 880–906. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12712

    • Document type: empirical study

    • Access: closed

  • • Maswood, R., & Rajaram, S. (2019). Social transmission of false memory in small groups and large networks. Topics in Cognitive Science, 11(4), 687–709. https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12348

    • Document type: literature review

    • Access: free

  • • Wright, D. B., Self, G., & Justice, C. (2000). Memory conformity: Exploring misinformation effects when presented by another person. British Journal of Psychology, 91(2), 189‑202. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712600161781

    • Document type: empirical study

    • Access: closed

Creator

  • Frank Arnould

Has study method(s)

Has theory(ies)

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/P66-LTHBCQG7-G

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