Memory Distortions, Confabulation, and Their Impact on Polygraph Examinations

Abstract Memory distortions, particularly confabulation, present significant challenges to the accuracy and reliability of polygraph examinations in forensic and clinical settings. This paper investigates how confabulation—the unintentional production of false memories without deliberate intent to deceive—affects credibility assessments and polygraph outcomes. Unlike purposeful deception, confabulation involves individuals genuinely believing their false memories to be accurate, creating a complex interpretative challenge for traditional polygraph methodologies that rely primarily on physiological response patterns. Through a comprehensive review and analytical approach drawing on existing research in memory science, cognitive psychology, and polygraph examination practices, this study reveals that confabulated memories can trigger autonomic responses similar to those elicited by genuine memories, leading to false-positive results. The reconstructive nature of episodic memory processes means that confabulation can occur across all populations—not only in individuals with neurological conditions—and can be influenced by stress, anxiety, suggestive questioning, and cognitive load during examinations. Key findings demonstrate that confabulating individuals often present their false memories with rich sensory–perceptual detail and emotional coherence, making them appear authentic even to experienced professionals. Traditional polygraph methods struggle to distinguish confabulation from intentional deception because contemporary instrumentation and evaluation techniques have remained largely unchanged for decades, relying on approaches that fail to account for the complexity of memory distortions. To address these challenges, the paper proposes several critical improvements: enhanced training for polygraph examiners to recognise confabulation and understand neurological conditions affecting memory-monitoring systems; methodological refinements including pre-test thematic assessments, careful question construction to avoid leading language, and strategic question ordering to reduce associative interference; and the integration of objective multimodal physiological measurements with cognitive interviewing and reality-monitoring techniques. The study concludes that addressing the impact of confabulation on credibility assessment requires an interdisciplinary approach that combines psychophysio-logical measurement with insights from cognitive science and ethical considerations. Such integration is essential for improving the reliability and fairness of polygraph examinations while preventing wrongful accusations based on genuinely believed but false information, thereby maintaining public trust in the justice system.