Attribution is important in reconstructing memories. In a famous study, participants watched a car accident and were asked “how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?” When their memory was later tested, many participants falsely recalled broken glass at the accident scene, likely due to connotations of the word smash.

The Attributional Process in Memory

When reconstructing memories, we sometimes modify our original memories based on what is expected. After reading a sentence, we often imply things that are not explicitly stated in the sentence.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- Source-monitoring error (source misattribution)
- Pragmatic inferences
- Misinformation effect

Memory Errors and Impairment (seen in general population)

Goldstein, E. B. (2014). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. Nelson Education.


Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience

Pragmatic inferences

Where a memory came from can be mixed up (misidentified; misattributed). For example someone can remember hearing about an event from the news when they actually heard it from a friend.

Source-monitoring error (source misattribution)

Misleading information that is presented to someone after witnessing event can change how they recall and explain that event. One common explanation is retroactive interference (new learning interfering with old memory/understanding)

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