Doctoral Dissertation Research: Strategic Use of Event Memorability in the Rejection of False Events

这个项目研究错误记忆，也就是为什么一个人记得没有发生的事件。 特别是，这项研究将调查的条件下，儿童和成人拒绝发生的虚假事件，由于战略使用的事件记忆。以前有人建议，个人对事件记忆力的评估被用作决策是否发生事件的基础。这种启发式被称为“元认知策略”。“该项目的目的是研究儿童和成人在何种条件下使用事件记忆力，即使用元认知策略，拒绝虚假事件。具体而言，本研究试图回答以下问题：1）记忆性和非记忆性项目的正确拒绝率是否存在发展差异，如果存在，年龄差异对理解元认知策略的使用有什么影响？2)编码和提取条件如何影响对难忘事件和非难忘事件的拒绝？3)在拒绝虚假的自传体事件时，是否可以检测到记忆性启发式的使用？这些发现将具有理论相关性，因为它们将揭示用于拒绝虚假事件的策略。这将使法律的系统了解证人不太可能产生虚假记忆的条件，防止不准确的证词和误判。

This project examines false memory, that is, why one remembers events that have not occurred. In particular, the study will investigate the conditions under which children and adults reject the occurrence of false events due to a strategic use of event memorability. It has previously been suggested that individuals' evaluations of event memorability are used heuristically as a basis for decision making about whether events occurred. This heuristic is termed the "metacognitive strategy." The objective of the project is to examine the conditions under which children and adults utilize event memorability heuristically, that is use the metacognitive strategy, to reject false events. Specifically, the proposed research attempts to answer the following questions: 1) Do developmental differences exist in the rate of correct rejection of memorable and non-memorable items, and, if so, what are the implications of age differences for understanding metacognitive strategy utilization? 2) How do encoding and retrieval conditions affect rejection of memorable versus non-memorable events? 3) Can the use of the memorability heuristic be detected in the rejection of false autobiographical events? The findings will have theoretical relevance because they will shed light on strategies used to reject false events. This will inform the legal system about conditions under which witnesses are less likely to create false memories, preventing inaccurate testimony and miscarriage of justice.