Projects
Memory distortion and emotion: The effects of mood, arousal, and affective valence on the occurrence of false memories. KU Leuven
Denying traumatic experiences - how false denials might impact false memory formation KU Leuven
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 ...
The Fate of False Memory KU Leuven
Intentional forgetting has been linked to victims of sexual abuse who attempt to (i) try to forget the abuse, (ii) not think about the abuse, or (iii) even falsely deny the abuse. However, despite intentionally forgetting, people are also prone to falsely remember such events. In this regard, for instance, an alleged victim falsely remembering being abused can accuse an innocent person leading to wrongful convictions. At this moment, there is ...
Do your eyes protect your memory? From memory myths to the false memory potential of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing KU Leuven
Therapies such as EMDR or imagery rescripting (ImR) are two popular and effective interventions for dealing with trauma. Both EMDR and ImR rely heavily on changing the impact of autobiographical memories. In recent years, legal cases and clinical reports have shown that after therapy such as EMDR and ImR, patients “suddenly” report new memories of traumatic experiences. This could lead to patients erroneously claiming to have been, for ...
The Triad of Bias:How Biases Affect Testimonies, Legal Professionals, and Expert Witnesses in Court KU Leuven
When Lies Become the Truth:The Impact of Lying on Memory in the Courtroom KU Leuven
Field versus observer perspective in mental imagery: an investigation of the effects on mood and behaviour, and of the efficacy of a clinical application in the prevention of depressive relapse. KU Leuven
mso-ansi-language:EN-US" lang="EN-US">It isnot just a posit</>ive event in itself, but also how it is processed that
determines the outcome, for instance on positive affect. This is especially of
interest in the context of depression. Depression is characterised by increased
negative affect, but also by reduced positiveaffect</>. Our aim
was to investigate mechanisms that ...
“Implanting” a fear memory in the human mind: A new approach for fear generalization KU Leuven
When Lies Become the Truth: The Impact of Lying on Memory in the Courtroom KU Leuven
Victims, witnesses, and offenders often lie in the legal field to, for example, avoid conflict or responsibility. A understudied question is whether we might come to believe our lies or not. Hence, this research proposal will study what the effects of lying will have on memory when people eventually come forward with the truth. In experimental settings we will examine the impact of deceptive strategies such as false denials, feign amnesia, ...