Researchers from the Memory and Language Lab at the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC) at the University of Granada (UGR) have investigated strategies to reduce false memories in older adults. The goal is to promote healthier cognitive aging.
What Are False Memories?
False memories are a type of memory error that occur when we recall events that didn't happen or retrieve incorrect details from a real event. This phenomenon is common in old age, partly due to the decline in executive functions that accompanies aging. These memory errors have significant implications in daily life, especially in medical, legal, and family contexts. Furthermore, they are particularly difficult to correct, as individuals often feel very confident in the veracity of what they recall.
While techniques for correcting false memories in young adults are already known, such as corrective feedback (or simply "feedback"), which involves providing the correct answer after an error, it was unclear if these techniques were equally effective in older adults. Understanding the effectiveness of this technique in older adults is particularly relevant because this group is more vulnerable to making these types of memory errors.
CIMCYC Researchers Studied Feedback Strategies
To answer this question, the researchers conducted two experiments with young and older participants. They compared two types of feedback: one that only provided the correct answer, and another that also included a follow-up question for participants to check if their answer matched their previous one (e.g., "Does this answer match the one you gave before?"). This second type of feedback encouraged self-monitoring and error control.
The results showed that both groups improved their memory accuracy and reduced false memories. Moreover, older adults especially benefited from repeated practice (performing the same task multiple times) and feedback. Most importantly, these benefits extended to learning new material, indicating that the learned strategies could be transferred to different situations.
In conclusion, these findings offer a promising avenue for designing practical interventions to help older adults maintain more accurate memories. Ultimately, this type of advance contributes to preserving their autonomy and improving their quality of life.
Reference
Montoro-Membila, N., Maraver, M. J., Marful, A., & Bajo, M. T. (2025). How do older adults correct memory errors? The effects of practice and metacognitive strategies. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2025.2464583.
Contact
Nuria Montoro-Membila (nuriamotoro@ugr.es)
María J. Maraver (mjmaraver@ugr.es)
Alejandra Marful (marful@ugr.es)
Teresa Bajo (mbajo@ugr.es)