The effect of age on the propensity for false memories

The purpose of this study was to examine if age has a significant effect on the propensity for false memories. The majority of the current literature asserts that false memories are more prevalent in adults, resulting from their lifetime of experiences, than • in children. However, these assertions are predominantly based on the results of research using adults as participants. While replicating past research paradigms from a 1995 study by Roediger and McDermott, the unique aspect of this study was the inclusion of younger participants. This research used second grade students, eighth grade students, and undergraduate students as participants. Memory tasks were administered to gather data in the areas of correct recall, false recall, correct recognition, and false recognition. The hypotheses to be tested were: 1) the older the participant, the more accurate the recall, 2) the older the participant, the greater the number of false recalls, 3) the older the participant, the more accurate the recognition, and 4) the older the participant, the greater the number of false recogntions