« School to be educated about law | Main | Aura diagnosis device invented. »
In a presentation to the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus revealed her recipe to get people to remember things that aren't true
. She explained how a third of people 'remembered' being hugged by Bugs Bunny at Disneyland (Bugs Bunny is not a Disney character) after the false memory was implanted.
A key to inducing memories, researchers said, is to add elements of touch, taste, sound and smell to the story.
In the Bugs Bunny research, Loftus talked with subjects about their childhood memories and asked not only whether they saw someone dressed up as the character, but also whether they hugged his furry body and stroked his velvety ears.
In subsequent interviews, 36 percent of the subjects recalled the cartoon rabbit.
Suggestion recipe makes false memories real—Cape Argus (via IOL), 17th February 2003.
Posted in
Rare Common Sense
at 19:57. Last modified on March 11 2007 at 11:40.
Permalink to this entry | View blog reactions