Are false memories possible? We can ask this question with presupposed doubt that they are in fact not possible, however we must also asks ourselves the latter- what if they are? Take for example a child that wakes up in the middle of the night, ferociously sweating in fear, for years. Say from age four to seven, this child has this repeating dream that lodges a memory of fear inside of his subconscious or even conscious. So much so, that when this child turns thirteen, then seventeen, and then becomes an adult, this so called nightmare may not be so much of “bad dream” anymore, yet a memory that was so prominent in their childhood- they now believe it to be real. Now it is very possible that this now grown adult, knows this memory very much so could be just a childhood nightmare, but so much of the dream felt so real to them as a child, for so many years, that even though their conscious tells them this may be a faulty memory, their mind continues to hold onto and deem value toward this dream as something that is real to them.
This is brings us to the fragile part of the initial question “are false memories possible?” The wording of this question automatically causes the reader to unintentionally side with the doubtful. This is due to the use of the word “false” before “memories,” automatically implying that whatever memory it is, is in fact false. This question implies a double negative scenario. If one were to answer “Yes” false memories are possible, this goes to say that the individual’s memory being questioned is still false. And if we are to answer “No” false memories are not possible, we are still discounting the individual’s memory as not only being false, but also as not even existing in the first place.
The controversy of this question lies with the debate as to who or what makes the decision as to what makes something “false.” “When a false belief involves a value judgment, it is regarded as a delusion only when the judgment is so extreme as to defy credibility” (DSM-5). But if everything in our memory is based all upon experience, it calls into question- what gives someone the right or authority to tell someone else that what they are thinking or remembering is false or indeed correct. The life that Sally lives is going to differ drastically from the life that Susan lives, even if they are born identical twins, raised by the same mother and father, drive everyday to and from school together, have the same friends, and even eat the same lunch. How can two identical lives be lived so differently you may be wondering? The reasoning lies within the minds of these two individuals. While they eat, sleep, and drink the same, we must not forget that these two women have completely personalized experiences due to the fact that they don’t share the same brain/mind. The one thing they do not have in common, is their mind. And it is because these two individuals have two separate minds, they also have two differing perspectives, opinions, and memories. Sally and Susan can experience the same day at the same mall but three years later, hold completely differing views as to how the day went about. What Sally saw that day or any day, will impact what goes into forming this memory of their day at the mall, and the same goes for Susan- ultimately producing two different versions of the same memory.
This twin example goes to show how not only siblings have differing views, but each and every living and conscious individual in existence have them as well. This goes to defend the view that false memories are not possible, if and only if, we do not stop there with this sentence. The full statement should read as follows: “False memories are not possible, because they are not false.” Delusions are not beliefs, rather they are stories that have been lived throughout experiences, thus creating personalized memories. Let’s say Johnny told Barbara about a dream he had last night, Barbara would not argue the validity of Johnny’s dream, as that is Johnny ’s personalized experience. An experience that Johnny and only Johnny would know to be true or not to be true. Barbara was not there to experience his dream, and even if she somehow was able to be interjected into his dream to experience it herself- it would be just that- Barbara experiencing Johnny’s dream. The same analogy goes for memories. Even if Barbara did in fact attend Johnny’s birthday, she experienced it quite differently than the birthday boy himself, once again defending the illegitimacy of the question “Are false memories possible?”
Whether or not a third person perspective believes or doubts the memory of the story teller the story is consistent with the individual’s experience, therefore no matter the empirical adequacy, the memory should be treated as a description of the individual’s reality, rather than questioned as a negative or positive account. “The psychological understanding of such stories depends on the interaction between imagination and belief required for the story and established by the context” (Gerrans 2014, p. 153), but never the less does not undermine the accountability of there being no such thing as a “false” memory- simply personalized experiences devout to the individual himself. This is after all, what makes life so beautiful.
Citations
First, M. B. (2014). DSM-V-TM handbook of differential diagnosis. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publ.
Campitelli, G., & Gerrans, P. (2013). Does the cognitive reflection test measure cognitive reflection? A mathematical modeling approach. Memory & Cognition,42(3), 434-447. doi:10.3758/s13421-013-0367-9