Laura E. Paige

Previous research suggests self-provided misinformation (lying) impairs memory for the truth, whereby more incorrect details are remembered compared to being truthful. The cognitive control processes evoked by inhibiting retrieval of truthful information may come at the expense of retaining that information in memory. Because lying requires quick adaptability to the situation, heart rate variability (HRV), reflecting cognitive control processes, is a useful metric of these cognitive demands. The present experiment extends previous research (Paige et al., 2019 Paige, L. E. , Fields, E. C. , & Gutchess, A. (2019). Influence of age on the effects of lying on memory. Brain and Cognition , 133 , 42–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2018.10.002 [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ) and had participants complete a questionnaire orally in front of a panel while electrocardiography (ECG) data was collected. Participants were instructed to tell the truth for half of the questions and lie for the other half. For a subset of the questions, participants were instructed to elaborate on their response. After a delay, participants completed the same questionnaire on the computer, responding truthfully to all items. Results revealed that correct memory was lower for items participants previously lied about compared to truthful items. Although prior work suggests increased HRV is associated with increased cognitive control, HRV did not predict memory for truth or lie items. These findings are consistent with past literature showing that lying impairs memory for veridical information compared to truth-telling.

Prior cross-cultural research has reported cultural variations in memory. One study revealed that Americans remembered images with more perceptual detail than East Asians (Millar et al. in Cult Brain 1(2–4):138–157, 2013). However, in a later study, this expected pattern was not replicated, possibly due to differences in encoding instructions (Paige et al. in Cortex 91:250–261, 2017). The present study sought to examine when cultural variation in memory-related decisions occur and the role of instructions. American and East Asian participants viewed images of objects while making a Purchase decision or an Approach decision and later completed a surprise recognition test. Results revealed Americans had higher hit rates for specific memory, regardless of instruction type, and a less stringent response criterion relative to East Asians. Additionally, a pattern emerged where the Approach decision enhanced hit rates for specific memory relative to the Purchase decision only when administered first; this pattern did not differ across cultures. Results suggest encoding instructions do not magnify cross-cultural differences in memory. Ultimately, cross-cultural differences in response bias, rather than memory sensitivity per se, may account for findings of cultural differences in memory specificity.