TY - JOUR

T1 - Explaining impossible phenomena : object permanence beliefs and memory falures in adults.

AU - Subbotsky, Eugene

PY - 1996

Y1 - 1996

N2 - In three experiments adult subjects' explanations of the observed non permanence of a physical object and their recollections of the order of the events during the experiment were obtained and analysed. The data showed that in order to conserve their strong beliefs in object permanence subjects systematically distorted the real temporal succession of events preceding the phenomenon. The frequency of the distortions depended on the salience of the non permanence phenomenon ('disappearance' versus appearance' of the physical object) and on the time interval between the events whose temporal order was reversed, but not on subjects' nationality (English versus German), gender, type of reproduction (immediate versus delayed), role in the experiment (subject versus observer) and degree of prompting in questioning.

AB - In three experiments adult subjects' explanations of the observed non permanence of a physical object and their recollections of the order of the events during the experiment were obtained and analysed. The data showed that in order to conserve their strong beliefs in object permanence subjects systematically distorted the real temporal succession of events preceding the phenomenon. The frequency of the distortions depended on the salience of the non permanence phenomenon ('disappearance' versus appearance' of the physical object) and on the time interval between the events whose temporal order was reversed, but not on subjects' nationality (English versus German), gender, type of reproduction (immediate versus delayed), role in the experiment (subject versus observer) and degree of prompting in questioning.

U2 - 10.1080/096582196389040

DO - 10.1080/096582196389040

M3 - Journal article

VL - 4

SP - 199

EP - 224

JO - Memory

JF - Memory

SN - 0965-8211

IS - 2

ER -