Manipulative impact on the memory of socially significant events: Results of the experiment in student groups

摘要

© 2021, Scibulcom Ltd.. All rights reserved.The imperfect nature of human memory and its integration into social interaction causes the urgency of the topic. The purpose of the study is to identify the effects of manipulation on students’ memories of socially significant events. The article contains theoretical substantiation of the problem of collective memory that serves the current interests of certain social groups. The embedding of individual memory in a public context can have either a positive effect, expanding memorization opportunities, or a negative effect, distorting real memories and leading to errors. The effects of mnemonic convergence in the process of social interaction are described. The formation of a “common past” is an important resource of collective identity, enhancing the adaptive potential of an individual as well as social cohesion. A pilot study was conducted in two experimental samples and a control group involving 123 participants. Students wrote a free narrative memory about their own experiences of quarantine caused by the spread of coronavirus in Ukraine during March-May 2020 (the survey took place in June 2020). In experimental groups, the survey was preceded by a manipulative teacher’s intervention – a falsified idea of the past events, which had two options of manifestation: optimistic and carefree or anxious and pessimistic. The control group was exposed to a neutral version of the instruction. While processing the data of the written assignments, the meaningful aspects were recorded, which corresponded to the nature of the intervention. The results showed that memories of the past and perceptions of the future in experimental groups corresponded to previous manipulative impacts. The analysis of the current situation was determined not by the emotional evaluation of the situation (positive or negative), but rather by the general attitude regarding its significance. A generalized description of the quarantine’s consequences on students’ life situations is given. The findings of the present study explain the impact of perceptions of the past on the interpretation of the future. It is proved that the manipulative influence on the memory of socially significant events has a reliable effect on individual diversity of memories, reducing them to a template provided from outside. The perspective of future studies concerning the impact of group cohesion on the social mediation of mnemonic processes is outlined.