Accuracies and inaccuracies in autobiographical memories

Abstract

Records of everyday autobiographical events were gathered from a small group of adults during a 4-month period. This was followed by five memory tests extending over 21/2 years. Recognition memory, temporal ordering, and dating accuracy declined as the events tested became more remote. Recognition accuracy on original items was high over the entire study; whereas the false recognition of nonevent, foil items increased after a 1- to 3-month delay. Confidence ratings of recognition accuracy remained consistently high over all tests, even though recognition accuracy deteriorated. Additional analyses of foil items indicated that false recognitions of nonevents as one's own memories were related positively to the semantic similarity between foils and the original records from which they were constructed. Taken together, the data support the hypothesis that the same autobiographical schemata account for the correct recognition of actual events, the false recognition of certain nonevents as one's own memories, the correct rejection of other nonevents, and an overconfidence in the "facts" of one's life.