Memory Distortions Develop Over Time: A Reply to Horn
Abstract
Horn points out that the civil-trial verdict in the O.J. Simpson case was announced 16 months after the criminal-trial verdict. We tested memory for the circumstances surrounding the announcement of the criminal-trial verdict at 15 months or 32 months after the event, and we compared the recollections we obtained to what the same individu-als had told us 3 days after the verdict (Schmolck, Buffalo, & Squire, 2000). We found memory to be less accurate and more prone to distor-tion after 32 months than after 15 months. Horn suggests that the an-nouncement of the civil-trial verdict, which intervened between our two tests, may have interfered with memory for the criminal-trial ver-dict and thereby may have impaired memory accuracy. Horn’s comment is a reminder of the difficulties inherent in carry-ing out research in natural settings outside the laboratory. Although we cannot rule out conclusively the possibility that interference was an important factor in the recollections we recorded, we believe it quite
- DOI
- 10.1111/1467-9280.00332
- Sources
- openalex