Psicologia do Testemunho: dos Primórdios à Atualidade

This paper has the objective to show the scientific contribution of Psychology of Testimony, understanding the phenomenon of false memories, affecting the veracity of the testimonies and the identification of suspect. Thus, the hypothesis to be considered is if the Psychology of Testimony is helpful bringing scientific criteria for the testimony and suspect identification, reducing judicial errors and the condemnation of innocents. The methodology used is based on a bibliographic review. For this purpose, the origin of Psychology of Testimony is described, pointing its main milestones and how the science has been developed with the various experiments and discoveries. It is important to verify how human memory works and what can be expected from it, considering the scope of testimonies being realized at police station and at judicial hearing. The false memories effect is considered as well. Afterward, it is analyzed how the Code of Criminal Procedure considers the testimonies of the victims and witness, besides the suspect identification. It also pursued to demonstrate possible existing distinction between the Code’s rules and the reality, reflecting on potential judicial errors. Finally, based on the Psychology of Testimony and dignity of the human person, there are suggestions related to be the best way to make the victims and witnesses´ testimony, in addition to suspect identification.

Did you see that? False memories for emotional words in bilingual children

When participants process a list of semantically strongly related words, the ones that were not presented may later be said, falsely, to have been on the list. This ‘false memory effect’ has been investigated by means of the DRM paradigm. We applied an emotional version of it to assess the false memory effect for emotional words in bilingual children with a minority language as L1 (their mother tongue) and a monolingual control group. We found that the higher emotionality of the words enhances memory distortion for both the bilingual and the monolingual children, in spite of the disadvantage related to vocabulary skills and of the socioeconomic status that acts on semantic processing independently from the condition of bilingualism. We conclude that bilingual children develop their semantic knowledge separately from their vocabulary skills and parallel to their monolingual peers, with a comparable role played by Arousal and Valence.

Segmentation of semantic and perceptual boundaries affects associative memory and risk of false memories

Temporally structured sequences of experiences, such as narratives or life events, are segmented in memory into discrete situational models. In segmentation, contextual shifts are processed as situational boundaries that temporally cluster items according to the perceived contexts. As such, segmentation enhances associative binding of items within a situational model. One side effect of enhanced associative processing is increased risk of false recollections for not-presented, semantically related items. If so, do boundaries facilitate false recollections, or does segmentation protect against them? In two experiments, we introduced situational shifts in word sequences in the form of semantic and perceptual boundaries, with semantic relatedness between words or the frame color around a word changing on a regular basis. After encoding, we tested participants’ associative memory performance and false recollection rates. In Experiment 1, color boundaries occurred synchronously or asynchronously to semantic boundaries. We found better associative recognition, but also more false recollections, for synchronous than asynchronous boundaries. In Experiment 2, color boundaries occurred synchronous to semantic boundaries or were absent entirely. We found that false recollection rates elicited by semantic boundaries increased when color boundaries were absent. We also tested associative memory performance using a non-semantic, temporal memory task. We found better temporal memory performance for semantic boundaries, as well as a negative correlation between increased false recollection rates and better temporal memory performance for semantic lists, but not for random lists. We discuss implications for false memory theories and segmentation of narrative materials in false memory research.

A double-edged sword: the role of prior knowledge in memory across the adult lifespan

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the role of prior knowledge on memory across the adult lifespan, and specifically examines the effects of two material properties: congruency – whether the material is congruent with people’s prior knowledge, and ambiguity – whether the material is ambiguous to interpret based on prior knowledge. Method: A total of 273 participants (aged 22-70 years old) completed an incidental memory task online. Participants were shown pictures depicting an object in a scene and judged if the object was likely or unlikely to be in the particular scene. Later, in the recognition test, participants were asked to identify if the picture was presented earlier. The pictures were manipulated to have varying levels of congruency, meaning that some depicted likely object-scene pairs and some unlikely, and varying levels of ambiguity, meaning that some were more ambiguous to judge than others. Mixed effects logistic regressions examined the effect of age, age2, congruency/ambiguity, and their interactions on memory.Results: The object-scene pairs perceived as congruent had both higher hit rates and higher false alarm rates than incongruent ones, especially in middle-aged and older people. Higher ambiguity was also related to both greater true and false memory, independent of age. Finally, the effect of ambiguity only emerged when the pair was perceived incongruent. Discussion: The results suggest that knowledge improves recognition but also induces false memories, particularly in middle-aged and older people, suggesting a double-edged role in memory and its influence on memory aging.

False memories for true and false vaccination information form in line with pre-existing vaccine opinions

Misinformation has continually threatened efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic, with vaccine misinformation now a key concern. False memories for misinformation can influence behavioural intentions, yet little is known about the factors affecting (false) memories for vaccine-related news items. Across two experiments (total N = 1,863), this paper explores the effects of pre-existing vaccine opinions on reported memories for true and false news items. In Study 1, participants (n = 1217) were exposed to fabricated pro- or anti-vaccine news items, and then asked if they have a memory of this news event having occurred. In Study 2, participants (n = 646) were exposed to true pro- or anti-vaccine news items. The results showed that news items were more likely to be remembered when they aligned with participants’ pre-existing vaccine beliefs. We conclude by encouraging researchers to consider the role of attitudinal bias when developing interventions to reduce susceptibility to misinformation.

The Trajectory of Targets and Critical Lures in the Deese/Roediger–McDermott Paradigm: A Systematic Review

The Deese/Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm has been used extensively to examine false memory. During the study session, participants learn lists of semantically related items (e.g., pillow, blanket, tired, bed), referred to as targets. Critical lures are items which are also associated with the lists but are intentionally omitted from study (e.g., sleep). At test, when asked to remember targets, participants often report false memories for critical lures. Findings from experiments using the DRM show the ease with which false memories develop in the absence of suggestion or misinformation. Given this, it is important to examine factors which influence the generalizability of the findings. One important factor is the persistence of false memory, or how long false memories last. Therefore, we conducted a systemic review to answer this research question: What is the persistence of false memory for specific items in the DRM paradigm? To help answer this question our review had two research objectives: (1) to examine the trajectory of target memory and false memory for critical lures and (2) to examine whether memory for targets exceeded false memory for critical lures. We included empirical articles which tested memory for the same DRM lists with at least two testing sessions. We discuss the results with respect to single-session delays, long-term memory recall and recognition, remember and know judgments for memory, and the effect of development, valence, warning, and connectivity on the trajectory of memory. Overall, the trajectory of targets showed a relatively consistent pattern of decrease across delay. The trajectory of critical lures was inconsistent. The proportion of targets versus critical lures across delay was also inconsistent. Despite the inconsistencies, we conclude that targets and critical lures have a dissimilar trajectory across delay and that critical lures are more persistent than targets. The findings with respect to long-term recall and recognition are consistent with both Fuzzy Trace Theory and Associative-Activation Theory of the DRM effect. The generation of false memory with brief delays (3–4 s) is better explained by Associative-Activation Theory. Examining the connectivity between target items, and critical lures, and the effect that has during study and retrieval, can provide insight into the persistence of false memory for critical lures.