Identifier

etd-04162012-104207

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

There are different ways of lying and these lies may have different impacts on memory. In this study, participants studied pictures of objects, and later lied and told the truth about these and other objects by describing them or by denying they had seen them. Forty-eight hours later, participants were tested on their source memory. Results revealed that participants had good memory for having falsely described a never-seen object, but poor memory for having falsely denied seeing a studied object. These results suggest that telling certain types of lies may make a person more likely to forget having lied at all. In addition, repeated truthful denials of having seen a picture paradoxically increased false memories for having seen it. Thus, telling the truth does not always prevent the possibility of memory distortion.

Date

2012

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Hicks, Jason

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.2085

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Psychology Commons

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