Can false memories, once expressed, be corrected by feedback in the DRM paradigm? The effect of receiving feedback on critical errors in the DRM paradigm

Past research has had limited success in preventing false memory of the critical lures in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm, yet researchers have not attempted to provide feedback on memory performance to determine if feedback can correct expressed false memories. Participants were divided into four groups, and they listened to 6 DRM lists. Half of the participants took a recall test immediately after each list, and half of the participants did not take a recall test. Half of the participants who took a test received feedback on their performance. All participants recalled the DRM words 2 days after hearing the lists read. Results showed that participants who received feedback corrected more errors than did participants who did not receive feedback, and those participants who received feedback had more correct recall on Test 2 than did participants who did not receive feedback. The mean absolute proportion of critical errors only differed between participants who received feedback and participants who heard the lists repeated, with participants hearing feedback recalling fewer errors.