Misattribution of Memory
We correctly recall a memory but misattribute its source.
Misattribution of memory (or source misattribution) is the process of incorrectly identifying the source of a memory. People may remember a fact correctly but attribute it to the wrong source. A political rumor heard from a friend may later be remembered as a news report, giving it false legitimacy. This process is a major mechanism by which misinformation spreads.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Déjà Vu Déjà vu is believed to be a misattribution of familiarity — familiar elements of a new scene are incorrectly attributed to a previous full experience of that scene.
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.
When discussing a movie, Dan says he read the book first and it was better. In reality, he never read the book, but the memory of intending to read it feels like he did.
Emma believes she learned a particular cooking technique from her grandmother's handwritten recipe book. She actually saw the same technique on a cooking video online.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
Get Debias on Google Play