Emotion and False Memory

Emotion Review, Vol.8, No.1, 2016

UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2016-22

7 Pages Posted: 6 May 2016

See all articles by Robin Kaplan

Robin Kaplan

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ilse Van Damme

KU Leuven, Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Experimental Psychology

Linda Levine

University of California, Irvine - Department of Psychology and Social Behavior

Elizabeth F. Loftus

University of California, Irvine - Department of Psychological Science; University of California, Irvine School of Law

Date Written: May 5, 2016

Abstract

Emotional memories are vivid and lasting but not necessarily accurate. Under some conditions, emotion even increases people’s susceptibility to false memories. This review addresses when and why emotion leaves people vulnerable to misremembering events. Recent research suggests that pregoal emotions — those experienced before goal attainment or failure (e.g., hope, fear) — narrow the scope of people’s attention to information that is central to their goals. This narrow focus can impair memory for peripheral details, leaving people vulnerable to misinformation concerning those details. In contrast, postgoal emotions — those experienced after goal attainment or failure (e.g., happiness, sadness) — broaden the scope of attention leaving people more resistant to misinformation. Implications for legal contexts, such as emotion-related errors in eyewitness testimony, are discussed.

Keywords: emotion, eyewitness testimony, false memory, misinformation effect

Suggested Citation

Kaplan, Robin and Van Damme, Ilse and Levine, Linda and Loftus, Elizabeth F., Emotion and False Memory (May 5, 2016). Emotion Review, Vol.8, No.1, 2016, UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2016-22, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2776349

Robin Kaplan

Bureau of Labor Statistics ( email )

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20212
United States

Ilse Van Damme

KU Leuven, Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Experimental Psychology ( email )

Leuven 3000
Belgium

Linda Levine (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine - Department of Psychology and Social Behavior ( email )

4201 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-7085
United States

Elizabeth F. Loftus

University of California, Irvine - Department of Psychological Science ( email )

4201 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-7085
United States

University of California, Irvine School of Law

401 E. Peltason Dr.
Ste. 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-1000
United States

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