False memory

Memory retrieval has been associated with the brain's relational processing. In associating two events (in reference to false memory, say tying a testimony to a prior event), there are verbatim and gist representations. Verbatim matches to the individual occurrences (e.g., I do not like dogs because when I was five a [[chihuahua (dog)|chihuahua]] bit me) and gist matches to general inferences (e.g., I do not like dogs because they are mean). Keeping in line with the [[fuzzy-trace theory]], which suggests false memories are stored in gist representations (which retrieves both true and false recall), Storbeck & Clore (2005) wanted to see how change in mood affected the retrieval of false memories. After using the measure of a word association tool called the [[Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm]] (DRM), the subjects' moods were manipulated. Moods were either oriented towards being more positive, more negative, or were left untouched. Findings suggested that a more negative mood made critical details, stored in gist representation, more accessible.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Storbeck |first1=J. |last2=Clore |first2=G.L. |year=2005 |title=With Sadness Comes Accuracy; with Happiness, False Memory: Mood and the False Memory Effect|journal=Psychological Science |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=785–791 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01615.x |pmid=16181441|s2cid=16608445 }}</ref>

Memory retrieval has been associated with the brain's relational processing. In associating two events (in reference to false memory, say tying a testimony to a prior event), there are verbatim and gist representations. Verbatim matches to the individual occurrences (e.g., I do not like dogs because when I was five a [[chihuahua (dog)|chihuahua]] bit me) and gist matches to general inferences (e.g., I do not like dogs because they are mean). Keeping in line with the [[fuzzy-trace theory]], which suggests false memories are stored in gist representations (which retrieves both true and false recall), Storbeck & Clore (2005) wanted to see how change in mood affected the retrieval of false memories. After using the measure of a word association tool called the [[Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm]] (DRM), the subjects' moods were manipulated. Moods were either oriented towards being more positive, more negative, or were left untouched. Findings suggested that a more negative mood made critical details, stored in gist representation, more accessible.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Storbeck |first1=J. |last2=Clore |first2=G.L. |year=2005 |title=With Sadness Comes Accuracy; with Happiness, False Memory: Mood and the False Memory Effect|journal=Psychological Science |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=785–791 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01615.x |pmid=16181441|s2cid=16608445 }}</ref>

=== Mingle Effect ===

=== Mandela effect ===

{{redirect|Mingle Effect|other uses|Mingle Effect}}

{{redirect|Mandela Effect|other uses|Mandela Effect (disambiguation)}}

Specific "false memories" can sometimes be shared by a large group of people. This phenomenon was dubbed the "Mingle effect", which later on it was atributted to Mandela by [[paranormal]] researcher Fiona Broome, who reported having vivid and detailed memories of news coverage of [[South Africa]]n anti-apartheid leader [[Nelson Mandela]] dying in prison in the 1980s, despite Mandela actually [[Death and state funeral of Nelson Mandela|dying in 2013]], decades after his release and after serving as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Broome reported that hundreds of other people had written about having the same memory of Mandela's death,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhengu |first1=Cebelihle |title=Hundreds 'remember' Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s: Inside the Mandela Effect |url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-11-06-hundreds-remember-nelson-mandela-dying-in-the-1980s-inside-the-mandela-effect/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=TimesLIVE |date=6 November 2019 |language=en-ZA}}</ref> some while he was still alive, and she speculated that the phenomenon could be evidence of [[Many-worlds interpretation|parallel realities]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mandela-effect-false-memories-explain-science-time-travel-parallel-universe-matrix-a8206746.html |title=Two cognitive psychologists explain the mystery of the 'Mandela effect' |work=The Independent |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en-GB |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031550/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mandela-effect-false-memories-explain-science-time-travel-parallel-universe-matrix-a8206746.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Specific false memories can sometimes be shared by a large group of people. This phenomenon was dubbed the "Mandela effect" by [[paranormal]] researcher Fiona Broome, who reported having vivid and detailed memories of news coverage of [[South Africa]]n anti-apartheid leader [[Nelson Mandela]] dying in prison in the 1980s, despite Mandela actually [[Death and state funeral of Nelson Mandela|dying in 2013]], decades after his release and after serving as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Broome reported that hundreds of other people had written about having the same memory of Mandela's death,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhengu |first1=Cebelihle |title=Hundreds 'remember' Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s: Inside the Mandela Effect |url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-11-06-hundreds-remember-nelson-mandela-dying-in-the-1980s-inside-the-mandela-effect/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=TimesLIVE |date=6 November 2019 |language=en-ZA}}</ref> some while he was still alive, and she speculated that the phenomenon could be evidence of [[Many-worlds interpretation|parallel realities]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mandela-effect-false-memories-explain-science-time-travel-parallel-universe-matrix-a8206746.html |title=Two cognitive psychologists explain the mystery of the 'Mandela effect' |work=The Independent |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en-GB |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031550/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mandela-effect-false-memories-explain-science-time-travel-parallel-universe-matrix-a8206746.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Orologio strage bologna.jpeg|thumb|The [[Bologna]] station clock in Italy, subject of a collective false memory]]

Scientists suggest that it is not a false memory, because there are solid evidence on the opposite, which make it difficult to determine a reason why on this phenomena. Others, suggests that it is due to a multiverse, parallel worlds, or dimension changing. Let's remember that Mandela wasn't the first to experiment this effect, and let's remember that there were evidence on Mandela's death as well. So, Mingle Effect is not a false memory, it is not a memory syndrome, nor a trauma. It is an effect that, yet, scientists are trying to determine what it is.

One well-documented example of shared false memories comes from a 2010 study that examined people familiar with the clock at [[Bologna Centrale railway station]], which was damaged in a [[Bologna massacre|bombing]] in August 1980. In the study, 92% of respondents falsely remembered the clock had remained stopped since the bombing, when, in fact, the clock was repaired shortly after the attack. Years later, the clock was again stopped and set to the time of the explosion, in observance and commemoration of the bombing.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=de Vito |first1=Stefania |last2=Cubelli |first2=Roberto |last3=Della Sala |first3=Sergio |title=Collective representations elicit widespread individual false memories |journal=Cortex |date=May 2009 |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=686–687 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2008.08.002 |pmid=19111288 }}</ref>

Other examples include:

* Memories of the respective title component of the ''[[Berenstain Bears]]'' children's books being spelled "Berenstein",<ref>{{cite web |last=Emery |first=David |url=http://www.snopes.com/2016/07/24/the-mandela-effect/ |title=The Mandela Effect |date=24 July 2016 |website=[[Snopes]] |access-date=21 September 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217030557/https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/07/24/the-mandela-effect/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/20/are-you-living-in-an-alternate-reality-welcome-to-the-wacky-worl/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/20/are-you-living-in-an-alternate-reality-welcome-to-the-wacky-worl/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Are you living in an alternate reality? Welcome to the wacky world of the 'Mandela Effect' |work=The Telegraph |publication-place=London |date=20 September 2016 |access-date=21 September 2017 |language=en-GB}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228163956/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/02/16/mandela-effect-false-memories/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fernando |first=Gavin |url=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/the-mandela-effect-conspiracy-theorists-believe-were-living-in-colliding-alternate-realities/news-story/ac488ee2426335f09d781f50c26ba33a |title=Does this picture look a bit off to you? |work=News.com.au |date=8 November 2016 |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111213456/https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/the-mandela-effect-conspiracy-theorists-believe-were-living-in-colliding-alternate-realities/news-story/ac488ee2426335f09d781f50c26ba33a |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooke |first=Henry |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/85258775/nz-and-the-mandela-effect-meet-the-folks-who-remember-new-zealand-being-in-a-different-place |title=NZ and the 'Mandela Effect': Meet the folks who remember New Zealand being in a different place |website=Stuff |date=12 October 2017 |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110000217/https://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/85258775/nz-and-the-mandela-effect-meet-the-folks-who-remember-new-zealand-being-in-a-different-place |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=[[Elisa Gabbert|Gabbert, Elisa]] |url=https://psmag.com/on-a-grandmas-house-and-the-unknowability-of-the-past-64a2f7d9808c |title=On a Grandma's House and the Unknowability of the Past |date=9 February 2017 |work=Pacific Standard |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217030621/https://psmag.com/news/on-a-grandmas-house-and-the-unknowability-of-the-past |url-status=live }}</ref> such as social and cognitive reinforcement of incorrect memories<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Adam D. |last2=Kouri |first2=Nicole |last3=Hirst |first3=William |date=23 July 2012 |title=Memory's Malleability: Its Role in Shaping Collective Memory and Social Identity |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=3 |page=257 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00257 |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=3402138 |pmid=22837750|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |url=http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/now/question/217069-can-groups-of-people-remember-something-that-didn-t-happen |title=Can groups of people "remember" something that didn't happen? |work=Hopes&Fears |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118070055/http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/now/question/217069-can-groups-of-people-remember-something-that-didn-t-happen |url-status=live }}</ref> or false news reports and misleading photographs that influence the formation of memories based on them.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.colby.edu/cogblog/2013/11/26/false-memories-in-the-news-are-pictures-worth-more-than-1000-words/ |title=False Memories in the News: Are Pictures Worth MORE Than 1,000 Words? |website=CogBlog – A Cognitive Psychology Blog |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225005136/http://web.colby.edu/cogblog/2013/11/26/false-memories-in-the-news-are-pictures-worth-more-than-1000-words/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/4/20/17109764/deepfake-ai-false-memory-psychology-mandela-effect |title=We're underestimating the mind-warping potential of fake video |last=Resnick |first=Brian |date=20 April 2018 |website=Vox |access-date=20 December 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315045649/https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/4/20/17109764/deepfake-ai-false-memory-psychology-mandela-effect |url-status=live }}</ref>

* The logo of clothing brand [[Fruit of the Loom]] featuring a [[cornucopia]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tweed|first=Carter|title=Did the Fruit of the Loom logo have a cornucopia?|url=https://www.alternatememories.com/historical-events/brands/fruit-of-the-loom|access-date=2020-11-25|website=Alternate Memories|date=29 May 2017|language=en-gb|archive-date=30 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130070554/https://www.alternatememories.com/historical-events/brands/fruit-of-the-loom|url-status=live}}</ref>

* [[Darth Vader]] telling [[Luke Skywalker]], "Luke, I am your father" in the climax of ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' (he actually says, "No, ''I'' am your father" in response to Skywalker's assertion that Vader killed his father),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palma |first=Bethania |date=2022-07-20 |title=No, Darth Vader Didn't Actually Say 'Luke, I Am Your Father' |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/star-wars-luke-i-am-your-father/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Snopes |language=en}}</ref>

* [[Mr. Monopoly]] wearing a [[monocle]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prasad |first1=Deepasri |last2=Bainbridge |first2=Wilma A. |date=2022 |title=The Visual Mandela Effect as Evidence for Shared and Specific False Memories Across People |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36219739/ |journal=Psychological Science |volume=33 |issue=12 |pages=1971–1988 |doi=10.1177/09567976221108944 |issn=1467-9280 |pmid=36219739 |s2cid=241793849 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-05 |title=The Mandela Effect: Poll shows most Americans misremember Darth Vader quote, Monopoly logo |url=https://abc7.com/mandela-effect-false-memory-yougov-polling/12198338/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bannon |first=Jessica Lyn |date=2022-01-16 |title=Rich Uncle Pennybags didn't wear a monocle — and other false memories |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/589505-rich-uncle-pennybags-didnt-wear-a-monocle-and-other-false-memories/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref>

* The existence of a 1990s movie titled ''[[Shazaam]]'' starring comedian [[Sinbad (comedian)|Sinbad]] as a genie<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine |last=Tait |first=Amelia |title=The movie that doesn't exist and the Redditors who think it does |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2016/12/movie-doesn-t-exist-and-redditors-who-think-it-does |access-date=21 September 2017 |magazine=New Statesman |publication-place=London |date=21 December 2016 |archive-date=26 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326030820/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2016/12/movie-doesn-t-exist-and-redditors-who-think-it-does |url-status=live}}</ref> (which [[Snopes]] suggests could be a [[confabulation]] of real memories, possibly including Sinbad wearing a genie-like costume during a TV marathon of [[Sinbad the Sailor]] movies in 1994,<ref>28 December 1994, on the cable channel [[TNT (U.S. TV network)|TNT]]; the marathon featured movies including ''[[Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger]]'' (1977).</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Evon |first=Dan |date=28 December 2016 |title=Did Sinbad Play a Genie in the 1990s Movie 'Shazaam'?|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sinbad-movie-shazaam/|access-date=2020-02-12 |website=[[Snopes]] |language=en-US |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219230241/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sinbad-movie-shazaam/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the 1996 film ''[[Kazaam]]'' featuring a genie played by basketball star [[Shaquille O'Neal]], and the 1960s animated genie-themed series ''[[Shazzan]]''),<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{cite web |last=Aamodt |first=Caitlin |date=16 February 2016 |title=Collective False Memories: What's Behind the 'Mandela Effect'?|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/collective-false-memories-whats-behind-the-mandela-effect |access-date=2019-12-12 |website=Discover Magazine |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125192146/https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/collective-false-memories-whats-behind-the-mandela-effect |url-status=live}}</ref>

Likewise, false memories of Mandela's death could be explained as the subject conflating him with [[Steve Biko]], another prominent South African anti-apartheid activist, who died in prison in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Drinkwater |first1=Ken |last2=Dagnall |first2=Neil |date=19 July 2019 |title=The 'Mandela effect' and the science of false memories |url=http://theconversation.com/the-mandela-effect-and-the-science-of-false-memories-114226 |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Critically Thinking About the Mandela Effect {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thoughts-thinking/202001/critically-thinking-about-the-mandela-effect |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dimou |first=Eleni |date=2021-12-30 |title=The Science Behind the Reality-Bending Mandela Effect |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a38349974/mandela-effect/ |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Internet meme|Memes]] about the Mandela effect and associated online jokes about a [[time travel]]er altering the past and turning the current era into "a glitch" became popular in the United States in 2016.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beran |first=Dale |title=It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office |date=July 30, 2019 |publisher=[[All Points Books]] |isbn=978-1-250-21947-3 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=16}}</ref>

Scientists suggest that these are examples of false memories shaped by similar cognitive factors affecting multiple people and families,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/02/16/mandela-effect-false-memories/ |title=Collective False Memories: What's Behind the 'Mandela Effect'? |date=16 February 2017 |work=The Crux |access-date=27 February 2017 |language=en-US |archive-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228163956/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/02/16/mandela-effect-false-memories/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fernando |first=Gavin |url=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/the-mandela-effect-conspiracy-theorists-believe-were-living-in-colliding-alternate-realities/news-story/ac488ee2426335f09d781f50c26ba33a |title=Does this picture look a bit off to you? |work=News.com.au |date=8 November 2016 |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111213456/https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/the-mandela-effect-conspiracy-theorists-believe-were-living-in-colliding-alternate-realities/news-story/ac488ee2426335f09d781f50c26ba33a |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooke |first=Henry |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/85258775/nz-and-the-mandela-effect-meet-the-folks-who-remember-new-zealand-being-in-a-different-place |title=NZ and the 'Mandela Effect': Meet the folks who remember New Zealand being in a different place |website=Stuff |date=12 October 2017 |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110000217/https://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/85258775/nz-and-the-mandela-effect-meet-the-folks-who-remember-new-zealand-being-in-a-different-place |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=[[Elisa Gabbert|Gabbert, Elisa]] |url=https://psmag.com/on-a-grandmas-house-and-the-unknowability-of-the-past-64a2f7d9808c |title=On a Grandma's House and the Unknowability of the Past |date=9 February 2017 |work=Pacific Standard |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217030621/https://psmag.com/news/on-a-grandmas-house-and-the-unknowability-of-the-past |url-status=live }}</ref> such as social and cognitive reinforcement of incorrect memories<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Adam D. |last2=Kouri |first2=Nicole |last3=Hirst |first3=William |date=23 July 2012 |title=Memory's Malleability: Its Role in Shaping Collective Memory and Social Identity |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=3 |page=257 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00257 |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=3402138 |pmid=22837750|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |url=http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/now/question/217069-can-groups-of-people-remember-something-that-didn-t-happen |title=Can groups of people "remember" something that didn't happen? |work=Hopes&Fears |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118070055/http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/now/question/217069-can-groups-of-people-remember-something-that-didn-t-happen |url-status=live }}</ref> or false news reports and misleading photographs that influence the formation of memories based on them.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.colby.edu/cogblog/2013/11/26/false-memories-in-the-news-are-pictures-worth-more-than-1000-words/ |title=False Memories in the News: Are Pictures Worth MORE Than 1,000 Words? |website=CogBlog – A Cognitive Psychology Blog |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225005136/http://web.colby.edu/cogblog/2013/11/26/false-memories-in-the-news-are-pictures-worth-more-than-1000-words/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/4/20/17109764/deepfake-ai-false-memory-psychology-mandela-effect |title=We're underestimating the mind-warping potential of fake video |last=Resnick |first=Brian |date=20 April 2018 |website=Vox |access-date=20 December 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315045649/https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/4/20/17109764/deepfake-ai-false-memory-psychology-mandela-effect |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Theories ==

== Theories ==