Graduation Year
2020
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biological and Physical Sciences
Program or Major
Biology
Second Department
Psychology
Second Program or Major
Psychology
Faculty Advisor
Leamarie Gordon
Abstract
After witnessing an event, a witness may be exposed to additional details about the event. These details can be inaccurate and delivered by numerous sources including other witnesses, law enforcement, and news reports. The purpose of this study was to examine how such post-event details can influence eyewitness memory reports, specifically when the post-event details are delivered by individuals from a social in-group or social out-group. Participants were young and older adults who were paired with a fictional partner. The fictional partner was manipulated to appear a member of the same racial group or a different racial group. Participant and partner pairs completed a social memory task in which the partner introduced false details to the participants. The results of the study were consistent with past research that has been done, indicating that older adults typically have a worse memory compared to young adults. It was further demonstrated that older adults are more susceptible to false memory formation than young adults, especially when false information is socially presented. Finally, the Stroop task also showed that older adults had a higher susceptibility to error.
Recommended Citation
Rapoza, Mia, "Age Differences in False Memory" (2020). Honors Theses. 76.
https://digitalcommons.assumption.edu/honorstheses/76