Have you ever had a memory of something then it turns out you weren’t even there? While this seems extremely impossible, it can actually happen! This is called implanting memories. Implanting memories is when individuals are given enough details and are reassured by another individual that the event occurred, people will believe they took part in that event. Or if somebody heard a story so many times, they can also believe they partook in that event also. I find this extremely interesting that you can implement a memory into somebody’s. This was tested by Hyman & Billings in 1998. They first obtained real memories about the individual, they then asked about five different memories. Four of those memories actually occurred and one had not occurred and was made up. They would then ask about the memory days later and usually the individual would remember the event which was made up. I find this very interesting that people can just create memories for others but, thinking back on it I have experienced it myself.
In high school my friend group would do everything together. Sometimes individuals who were busy would miss out because they were busy. As time would pass after events and stories of it would be told, I started to notice that people who weren’t there would be able to tell the story. Not just summarize the story either, they would be able to tell every detail that happened like they were there. I just assumed that they had FOMO and wanted to fit it. It wasn’t until the class covered the lesson on memory that I realized what was happening. I soon realized why this was occurring and that the individuals heard the story so much and that the passing of time lead them to remember the events even though they were there. By repeatedly telling the stories we were actually implanting memories into the individuals who didn’t attend. This wasn’t intentional and I now find this very fascinating. I thought it was just a rare occurrence but finding out its actually a common event really changed how I look at my friends now. I myself have had memories implanted into my head because I have heard about, they so much, I just knew they weren’t true because they occurred while I was participating in something else that I remembered. While it might not seem like it, this is how easy it is to implement a memory into somebody’s head.
I have experienced the phenomenon of memory implantation many times as well! Whenever my friends would recall group events that I was not a part of, after a couple of repetitions and time passing by, I would also be able to recall the event as though I was there. Even within my family, my parents would tell me childhood stories of when I was an infant or a toddler that I had no recollection of. However, upon enough recollections of the event and my own imagination of the stories, I had a clear picture and memory of that specific event, even though I have no actual memory of that event. Interestingly enough, your post actually allowed me to form a connection between implanting memories and schemas. I believe that implanting memories is so powerful and effective due to the schemas that we associate with certain events. For instance, if I were to have a false implanted memory of bowling with my friends, even though I wasn’t there at the event, I would be able to fit the description of bowling and hanging out with friends in the respective schema to create a constructed narrative of that event, which would strengthen that false memory. Details from other people’s recollection would be able to fill in the gaps of that narrative and ultimately create an implanted memory.
I have also experienced this kind of thing, though I was the one with the implanted memory. I also have a very close group of friends, and we often spend a lot of time all together. Spending time together leads to funny things happening that we reference later, whether it be a funny one-liner or just something amusing occurring. Once, I had not been able to hang out with the group because I was busy, and when I was with them next they had made a funny reference that I did not get. They then explained it to me so I knew the origin of the story. Much later, after it had been referenced many times, I would find myself making the reference even though I wasn’t actually there for the event when it happened. I felt like I could recall it, and I could correctly integrate it as a joke, but I was never actually there. It’s honestly quite an odd thing to experience.