The effects of perceived memory ability on memory conformity for an event

Social contagion of memory and the role of self-initiated relative judgments

Two experiments examined the role of spontaneous relative judgments within the social contagion of memory paradigm (Roediger, Meade, & Bergman, 2001). Participants viewed household scenes (for short or long durations) in collaboration with a confederate (with low, average, or superior memory ability) who falsely recalled incorrect items as having occurred in the scenes. Of interest was whether or not participants would spontaneously evaluate the state of their own memory relative to the state of the confederate's memory when remembering suggested information. Participant responses on a metacognitive questionnaire demonstrated that participants were aware of their own memory ability relative to the memory ability of their partner. Interestingly, this information influenced participants' remember responses on the recall test only when they felt their own memory was relatively poor. Participants make self-initiated, relative judgments of memory when working with others on a memory test, and these judgments are driven by metacognitive differences in remember responses. The results highlight the importance of metacognition in understanding relative judgments in social memory.

The intoxicated co-witness: effects of alcohol and dyadic discussion on memory conformity and event recall

RATIONALE

Co-witness discussion is common and often witnesses are under the influence of alcohol. As such, it is important to understand how such factors may influence eyewitness testimony.

OBJECTIVES

We combined a co-witness memory paradigm with an alcohol administration paradigm to examine the influence of alcohol and dyadic discussion on remembering a mock crime.

METHODS

Intoxicated and sober dyads discussed a previously seen video, whilst in a control condition sober and intoxicated individuals recalled the event on their own. Unknown to the dyads, each discussion partner saw a different version of the video including unique details not present in the other video version. All participants then engaged in a second individual recall attempt.

RESULTS

Dyads were more likely to recall misleading details in their individual recall attempts compared to the control group. Intoxicated and sober dyads were equally likely to report misleading information. Alcohol intoxication had no negative impact on individuals' ability to correctly identify the source of their responses. Intoxicated participants recalled fewer details under free recall conditions. Alcohol had a detrimental effect on participants' confidence in their free recall accounts.

CONCLUSIONS

Possible alcohol-related and social-cognitive mechanisms are discussed which may contribute to the current findings as well as applied implications for interviewing intoxicated witnesses.