title: Positive consequences of false memories.
abstract: Previous research is replete with examples of the negative consequences of false memories. In the current research, we provide a different perspective on false memories and their development and demonstrate that false memories can have positive consequences. Specifically, we examined the role false memories play in subsequent problem-solving tasks. Children and adults studied and recalled neutral or survival-relevant lists of associated words. They then solved age-normed compound remote associates, some of whose solutions had been primed by false memories created when studying the previous lists. The results showed that regardless of age: (a) survival-related words were not only better recollected but were also more susceptible than neutral words to false memory illusions; and (b) survival-related false memories were better than neutral false memories as primes for problem-solving. These findings are discussed in the context of recent speculation concerning the positive consequences of false memories, and the adaptive nature of reconstructive memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, City University, London, U.K.
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving; D012094:Repression, Psychology