Behind the Scenes of Denial-Induced Forgetting: Strong ROC Curve Evidence for Effects on Memory for Denial-Driven Discussions

Abstract

Victims, perpetrators, and witnesses sometimes deny negative events they experienced. We examined how false denials affect memory reports for a trauma analog event and previous discussions by differentiating memory strength (d’) from response bias (c), and conducting Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Participants (N = 108) watched a trauma analog video. Next, half were instructed to falsely deny having seen details in this video, and half were asked to respond honestly in a conversation with the experimenter. After 1 week, participants completed a source memory test, examining memory for the conversation and video. Our analyses showed clear evidence for denial‐induced forgetting of discussed details. Memory for the event was unaffected by denials. Our results imply that conversational testimony might be less complete after falsely denying (versus being honest). However, the memory for the traumatic event is likely not affected in any practically meaningful way.