Confabulation
We unconsciously fill in memory gaps with invented, but plausible-sounding information.
Confabulation is a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world, without the conscious intention to deceive. The person is not lying; they genuinely believe the fabricated memory. It occurs in normal memory (remembering conversations that didn't happen quite as recalled) and in neurological conditions like Korsakoff syndrome.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Childhood Memory Filling Adults confidently 'remember' childhood events that photos and other family members' accounts show happened differently or not at all.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
A couple is debating where they had their first date. He insists it was at an Italian restaurant because that's where they went on their second date.
After a meeting, Tom tells a colleague that the manager clearly approved their project budget. In reality, the manager only said they would 'consider it,' but Tom recalls the approval as a firm decision.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
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