ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen an upsurge of interest in memory accuracy and distortion (Koriat, Goldsmith, & Pansky, 2000). is interest has been fueled by a host of real-life observations documenting severe memory distortions and fabrications, casting doubt on the faithfulness of eyewitness memory (Lous, 1979, 2003). Some of the studies on memory distortion and false memories have examined naturally occurring memory errors that derive from the constructive nature of memory and are in line with the view originally advanced by Bartlett (1932). Other research has shown how memory is sensitive to a variety of inuences that result in erroneous memories (for a review, see Pansky, Koriat, & Goldsmith, 2005). All in all, the view of memory that seems to emerge from the research literature is rather pessimistic regarding the ability of memory to deliver a veracious account of past events. is view is reected, for example, in the title of Schacter’s (2001) book, e Seven Sins of Memory.
