Paul Simpson

Misattribution of Memory involves source details retained in memory but erroneously attributing a recollection or idea to the wrong source.

The levels-of-processing effect describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing.

Sharpening is usually the way in which we remember small details in the retelling of stories we have experienced ourselves or are retelling those stories. Leveling is when we keep out parts of stories and try to tone those stories down so that some parts are excluded.

The isolation effect predicts that an item that “stands out like a sore thumb” (called distinctive encoding) is more likely to be remembered than other items.

Memory inhibition is the ability not to remember irrelevant information.

Research findings on improving eyewitness recall.

Merely imagining a criminal event can create a believed-in false memory.

People are more likely to identify statements they have previously heard as true (even if they cannot consciously remember having heard them), regardless of the actual validity of the statement. In other words, a person is more likely to believe a familiar statement than an unfamiliar one.

The inclination to see past events as being predictable; also called the “I-knew-it-all-along” effect.

Examining encoding and reconstruction of the primary aspects of an event.