Synthetic ImprintingReference Project
Memory

False Memory

A false memory is a recollection of an event or detail that did not happen as remembered. It can feel convincing without being deliberately invented.

Established Concept

What does it mean in everyday language?

A memory may feel real even when a detail, or the whole event, is inaccurate.

An example

A viewer remembers broken glass in a filmed collision even though the film showed none. Confidence in that memory does not make the detail accurate.

A more precise definition

False memory refers broadly to recollection that includes events or details that did not occur, or that differs substantially from the original event.

Key features

  • Subjective feeling of remembering
  • Mismatch with the documented event
  • Can arise through multiple mechanisms

Where the definition stops

It is not necessarily deliberate lying and is not equivalent to ordinary uncertainty.

How it relates to synthetic imprinting

False memory is one outcome the framework might investigate. A lasting change in expectations or beliefs need not involve a false memory.

Research context

An established field spanning laboratory studies, autobiographical memory, eyewitness testimony, and clinical controversy.

Sources and further reading

  1. Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An Example of the Interaction Between Language and Memory — Elizabeth F. Loftus, John C. Palmer (1974). Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13(5), 585–589.
  2. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Lies: Using False Photographs to Create False Childhood Memories — Kimberley A. Wade, Maryanne Garry, J. Don Read, D. Stephen Lindsay (2002). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9, 597–603.

Cite this definition

APA: SyntheticImprinting.com. (2026). False Memory. https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/false-memory/

MLA: “False Memory.” SyntheticImprinting.com, 2026, https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/false-memory/. Accessed September 26, 2026.

Chicago: SyntheticImprinting.com. “False Memory.” Last modified 2026-09-24. https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/false-memory/.

What the status means

Established Concept

A concept used in academic or professional literature. This label does not mean every claim about it is settled.

How evidence labels work
First published
Updated
Version
1.2
Prepared by
SyntheticImprinting.com Editorial Project
Review status
External expert review pending

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