False Memory

What methods did we employ in this experiment?

A list of words was shown one at a time, with each word presented for one and a half seconds. Then, the response buttons were labeled with words from the list as well as with distractor words that were not on the list. You were asked to click on the buttons to identify which words
were on the list.

The independent variable in this experiment was the type of word presented at test: (1) on list, (2) unrelated distractor, and (3) related distractor. The dependent variable was the percentage of each type of item recalled.

What do we predict participants will do? Why?

People should recall the related distractors very often. The idea is that many of the words presented are related to the distractor, and most likely you thought about the distractor item as the words were being shown. At test, you have a memory of thinking about the word, but thought
this was because it was presented rather than realizing you had just thought about the word.

How robust is this effect? Are there limits to this effect?

The effect is quite robust and perhaps most surprisingly, it works well even when subjects know what the experiment is about.