Using a foreign language can reduce false memories, study shows
by Tori Lee , University of Chicago
A thief sneaks into a museum late at night.
They pass by a pair of statues—or were they suits of armor? You see them take a necklace. Or wait. Didn't the news report say it was a watch?
Our memories shape the past, our sense of reality. But they aren't always true.
Language is often a culprit for planting these false memories.
In a recent study published by the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, two UChicago research groups came together to examine the relationship between language and memory—specifically the role of
multilingualism.
Doing anything in a language that isn't your own—from ordering lunch to learning something new—can be tough.
This may lead some to believe foreign language users would be more susceptible to false memories.
However, according to Prof. Boaz Keysar, that's not the case.
"What's really interesting about what we find is it's exactly the opposite," said Keysar, who directs the Multilingualism and Decision-Making Lab at UChicago.
"People have fewer false memories in their second language."
Two memory illusions
To test their hypothesis, researchers partnered with UChicago's Center in Beijing on two studies designed to plant false memories.
In the first study, 120 native Mandarin Chinese speakers who also knew English were given a list of related words in both languages.
particularly relevant in eyewitness testimony when conflicting reports can have tremendous consequences.
In the study, native Mandarin speakers watched silent videos of a crime. Afterwards, they listened to corresponding audio narratives, one in English and one in Mandarin.
The stories were filled with details of the crime—some true and some not.
When asked what they remembered, participants fell for the planted false memories in their own language.
Suggestions of extra guards or statues became false memories. However, that wasn't true for their second language.
"We actually found that when people got misleading information in their foreign language, they were more likely to catch it than when they got it in their native tongue," Grant said.
when conflicting reports can have tremendous consequences.
In the study, native Mandarin speakers watched silent videos of a crime. Afterwards, they listened to corresponding audio narratives, one in English and one in Mandarin.
The stories were filled with details of the crime—some true and some not.
When asked what they remembered, participants fell for the planted false memories in their own language.
Suggestions of extra guards or statues became false memories. However, that wasn't true for their second language.
"We actually found that when people got misleading information in their foreign language, they were more likely to catch it than when they got it in their native tongue," Grant said.