Denying traumatic experiences - how false denials might impact false memory formation

Victims of abuse sometimes falsely deny their traumatic experiences in order to cope with trauma or because they are pressured by the perpetrator. However, police might use suggestive questions when  faced with denying victims. An important issue is whether these initial false denials might affect the incorporation of suggestion leading to false memories (memories for details that never occurred). Therefore, the current project aims to investigate this issue , by experimentally investigating how false denials of a trauma film impact (1) endorsement of suggestive misinformation in a misinformation paradigm, (2) conformity to another eyewitness in a memory conformity paradigm, and finally (3) how false denials of a traumatic virtual reality scene affect endorsement of misinformation about own memory reports in a memory blindness paradigm. The results of the proposed project will bear relevance for the academic and legal field  and provide the general public with a better picture on how falsely denying traumatic experiences may affect false memories in eyewitness testimony.