Psychologists Elke Geraerts of the
University of St. Andrews and Maastricht University, Daniel Bernstein
of Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the University of Washington,
Harald Merckelbach, Christel Linders, and Linsey Raymaekers of
Maastricht University, and Elizabeth F. Loftus of University of
California, Irvine, found that it is possible to change long-term
behaviors using a simple suggestive technique.
In a series of
experiments, the researchers falsely suggested that participants had
become ill after eating egg salad as a child. Afterwards, the
researchers offered different kinds of sandwiches to the participants,
including ones with an egg salad filling. Four months later, the
participants were asked to be in a separate study in which they
evaluated egg salad as well as other foods. They were then given the
same kinds of sandwiches that had been offered to them four months
earlier.
Interestingly, participants who were told they had
become ill as a child after eating egg salad showed a distinct change
in attitudes and behavior towards this food after the experiment. They
not only gave the food lower evaluations than participants who did not
develop false memories or were in the control group, but they also
avoided egg salad sandwiches more than any of the other participants
four months later.
The results, appearing in the August issue of Psychological Science,
a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, "clearly
demonstrate that false suggestions about childhood events can
profoundly change people's attitudes and behavior," wrote the authors.
These
findings have significant implications for the authenticity of reports
of recovered memory experiences. While previous research indicates that
spontaneously recovered memories may reflect real memories of abuse,
there is no such evidence for abuse memories recovered through
suggestive therapy. The results might also influence obesity treatments
and dieting choices. The authors suggest that it may be possible for
people to learn to avoid certain foods by believing they had negative
experiences with the food as a child. Overall, this study clearly
demonstrates that false suggestions about childhood events can
profoundly change people's attitudes and behavior.
Source: EurekAlert (Press Release)
