Borrowing Personal Memories

Summary The present investigation documents memory borrowing in college‐age students, defined as the telling of others' autobiographical stories as if they are one's own. In both pilot and online surveys, most undergraduates admit to borrowing personal stories from others or using details...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied cognitive psychology 2015-05, Vol.29 (3), p.471-477
Main Authors: Brown, Alan S., Croft Caderao, Kathryn, Fields, Lindy M., Marsh, Elizabeth J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive psychology
College students
Memory
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Summary:Summary The present investigation documents memory borrowing in college‐age students, defined as the telling of others' autobiographical stories as if they are one's own. In both pilot and online surveys, most undergraduates admit to borrowing personal stories from others or using details from others' experiences to embellish their own retellings. These behaviors appear primarily motivated by a desire to permanently incorporate others' experiences into one's own autobiographical record (appropriation), but other reasons include to temporarily create a more coherent or engaging conversational exchange (social connection), simplify conveying somebody else's interesting experience (convenience), or make oneself look good (status enhancement). A substantial percentage of respondents expressed uncertainty as to whether an autobiographical experience actually belonged to them or to someone else, and most respondents have confronted somebody over ownership of a particular story. Documenting memory borrowing is important as the behavior has potential consequences for the creation of false memories. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0888-4080
1099-0720
DOI:10.1002/acp.3130