Naturally Occurring and Suggestion- Dependent Memory Distortions: The Convergence of Disparate Research Traditions

Two lines of research that have revealed the existence of memory distortions are reviewed. Both began at the beginning of this century and continue through today. One is a coherent research tradition aimed at investigating suggestion-dependent memory distortions produced by clinical and social psychological manipulations; the other consists of a series of unrelated studies on naturally occurring memory distortions. These latter studies are aimed at establishing some of the basic processes underlying the functioning of normal human memory. It is argued that these lines of research have not previously been considered together as part of the literature on memory errors.