Journal article

Publication year: 2004

Pages: 135-151

Journal: Journal of Psychology

Volume number: 212

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 0044-3409

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1026/0044-3409.212.3.135

Publisher: Hogrefe

Abstract: 
This study investigated how we discriminate memories of factual experiences from merely imagined, invented events. These and similar issues have been investigated with the reality monitoring framework but with relatively simple experiences. The present study expands this approach to highly complex autobiographical events and tests its usefulness for discriminating self-experienced and invented events. We had 100 students and apprentices write down both an account of a factual, "special" experience and a freely invented experience, in counter-balanced order. Subsequently, the storytellers rated each story with the Self-Rating Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (SMCQ) - an adapted version of Johnson, Foley, Suengas, and Raye's (1988) Memory Characteristics Questionnaire. Ratings were separately factor analyzed for self-experienced and invented events. On the basis of theoretical considerations and these factor analyses, eight reality monitoring scales were derived which were labeled Clarity and Vividness, Sensory Information, Spatial Information, Time Information, Emotions and Feelings, Reconstructability, Realism, and Cognitive Operations. A multivariate analysis of variance with truth status, preparation time and participant gender discriminated highly significantly between self-experienced and invented accounts for 6 of the 8 scales. Preparation time was only important for 2 of the scales. Results are discussed with respect to reality monitoring processes.

Harvard Citation style: Sporer, S. and Küpper, B. (2004) Fantasy and reality -: memory characteristics of self-experienced and invented stories, Zeitschrift für Psychologie = Journal of psychology, 212(3), pp. 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1026/0044-3409.212.3.135

APA Citation style: Sporer, S., & Küpper, B. (2004). Fantasy and reality -: memory characteristics of self-experienced and invented stories. Zeitschrift für Psychologie = Journal of psychology. 212(3), 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1026/0044-3409.212.3.135