Reconstructive memory- Braun, Ellis & Loftus- EXP 2

To investigate if false information in an ad could make participants think that those events had happened to them as a child

167 undergraduate psychlogy students from an American University

104 female and 63 male

IV-Bugs bunny, Ariel and factual

DV- Life Events Inventory modified 'shaking hands with a cartoon character at a theme park' no mention of Disney

1-Given an advert with Bunny

2-Given an advert with Ariel

week 1 and 2- Life Events Inventory

Percentage increase

Ariel 76%

Bugs Bunny 78%

Non- autobiographical 62%

Mean score of Involvment

A- 4.8/8

B-5.1/8

N-3.8/8

Autobiographical advertising can:

• Influence how consumers recall past
• Make consumers more likely to believe an event happened to them as a child even if possible
• Create fake memories
• Supports reconstrunctive memory

There was an age bias

Both studies used undergraduate students from the USA. This is biased as they cannot generalise to other ages. They may not represent how people of different ages respond to autobiographical advertising

It is not ethical to manipulate peoples memory(slight deception)

Many participants reported that they were more likely to visit Disney World and could have therefore been manipulated to spend a considerable amount of money on a holiday that they might not have taken. Also affected how participants recalled their past

lacked ecological validity.

Study took place under lab conditions may not have reflected how people think about autobiographical advertisements in real life situations.

Participants were directly instructed to imagine themselves experiencing the situation. In real life people do not generally get given direct instructions on how to percieve an advert and therefore may be less liekly to have their childhood memories altered