Implanting False Memories

Previous research suggests that we experience false memories, these are events that we believe happen, when they actually do not. There are many factors that can create false memories; however I will be looking specifically at how priming can affect memory. Priming is an effect where in order to retrieve a memory, a link to that memory must be activated with the use of subtle cues (Herbert, 2011). Two different lists were used to try to create the same false memory for participants. These two lists I created are a semantic list and a rhyming list, both associated with the critical lure word, “snake.” Participants recruited through the Lindenwood Participant Pool were randomly assigned to which list would be presented first, and then the other list was presented next. After viewing each list, participants had to write down as many of the words they could remember that they had just seen. My hypothesis is that if participants are assigned the semantic list associated with snake first, then they would be more likely to recall snake when writing down all the words that rhyme with snake