SS-15 Agreeableness & The Social Contagion Effect: How Memory is Influenced by Personality

When an individual recalls an event that did not occur, this is considered a false memory. A widely accepted study that transformed the literature on false memories involved examining the social nature of memory recall. Aptly named, the social contagion effect examines how the presence and influence of others’ false memories may negatively impact an individual’s ability to accurately recall an event (Roediger et. al, 2001). Researchers conducted an experiment where participants were presented with a series of scenes and then asked to recall items from each scene. To address potential confounds, researchers ensured that participants saw six images of common household scenes, all with items ranging from high to low expectancy. Participants were in one of the following conditions: isolation, with a confederate who provided false information, or with a confederate who provided only accurate information. Roediger et. al (2001) found that in the condition where the participant was with the confederate providing false information, participants’ memory of the scene was contaminated, and therefore, more likely to experience false memories. While Roediger et. al (2001) provided an explanation for the influence social settings have on memory, existing research on false memories does not account for another important variable: the personality traits exhibited by the individual. We are measured the extent to which agreeableness influences the creation of false memories. Specifically, 1) Are individuals who score higher in agreeableness more susceptible to false memories? 2) In social settings, are individuals who score higher on agreeableness more susceptible to false memories, thus reflecting the social contagion effect? While most studies focus on the influence of suggestibility on false memories, very little research has examined the relationship between the social contagion effect and personality differences especially agreeableness as a trait, which closely parallels the concepts explored with suggestibility and false memories. Ultimately, we found no support that agreeableness as a personality trait influences one's susceptibility to the social contagion effect.