The Memory-Undermining Effect of Simulated Crime-Related Amnesia and Its Legal Implications: a Review

Abstract

Pretending to suffer from amnesia for a mock crime has been shown to lead to memory impairments. Specifically, when people are asked to give up their role of simulators, they typically recall fewer crime-relevant details than those who initially confess to a crime. In the current review, we amassed all experimental work on this subject and assessed the characteristics of the memory-undermining effect of simulated amnesia for a crime procedure (i.e., crime stimuli, simulating amnesia instructions, memory tests, and memory outcomes). We specifically focused on the effect that crime-related amnesia claims may have on offenders’ final memory reports. Our review showed that simulators who initially claimed amnesia might paradoxically experience some sort of forgetting pertaining to crime-related information. This issue could likely lead to legal complications that need be taken into account in crime-related amnesia cases.