Written by : Rania OUARZAZIOne of the key approaches to understanding any complex system is to examine its flaws. The study of human memory has long used this approach to clarify the processes underlying human cognition. In this area, and over the past two decades, many researchers have shown that human memory is not as accurate as we would like to believe. Sometimes we remember the gist of a particular event with incorrect details, and sometimes we report entirely false memories of an event that never occurred. In many cases, our false memories are of little consequence, but they can sometimes have disastrous consequences, especially if reported in court.
Therefore, understanding the factors that influence the production of false memories is particularly important in certain areas such as testimony in criminal cases. For judges, proving the innocence or guilt of an alleged perpetrator often centers on eyewitnesses’ recall of the details of the event. However, these witnesses are often exposed to conflicting versions of the same event. In this context, the elderly are very vulnerable. Compared to young people, they are more likely to claim to have witnessed events that were only suggested to them. As a result, seniors are more confident in the fact that their memories’ distortion represents reality. Thus, it’s only logical to study this phenomenon in the context of advancing age. As such, the present study aims to examine the link between Working Memory capacity and attention among seniors and their susceptibility to false memories through the use of an adaptation of the misinformation paradigm. To this end, our experimental procedure respects the standard steps of the misinformation paradigm. In fact, this study is carried out in the form of an individual assignment for a period of time varying between 1 h 30 min and 2 h. It is divided into the following steps:
First, 40 participants (youths and seniors) viewed a film clip, followed by a questionnaire that included misinformation about the clip. Immediately after doing that, they were given a distractive task. Then, the participants are presented with the auditory modality of the suggestive questionnaire. The psychometric tests assessing WM and attention are then presented for a period of 40 minutes. During these tests, the film is not mentioned at all. In order not to overexert the participants, they are presented with a demographic form before proceeding to the next test. Once the 40 minutes have elapsed, the participant is asked, by means of a recognition test, about certain sequences from the film.
The results of our study suggest that seniors are more susceptible to memory errors than younger people, reflecting the fact that elders experience cognitive difficulties related to the origins of their memories. However, no significant correlation was observed between participants’ (young and old) performance on cognitive tests measuring their WM ability and attention with their production of false memories in the misinformation paradigm. In light of these results, it seems relevant to continue research in this area in order to gain further insight into the cognitive mechanisms associated with the production of false memories and advancing age in this paradigm. Furthermore, understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying age-related susceptibility to false memories may contribute to the development of strategies to improve memory performance in older adults.
Keywords : Aging; Normal aging; False memories; Neuropsychology; Cognition; Episodic memory; Working memory; Attention; Source monitoring