The Reliability of the Subjective Reports of Memories

Abstract

There is a growing trend within memory research to explore people's subjective judgements about the qualities of their memories. The reliability of these measures is fundamental for the value of this research. Several possible problems have been highlighted by survey methodologists concerning the reliability of subjective judgements which we explore with respect to memory research. We report a large-scale (n = 4289) study that investigated whether the types of questions used in flashbulb memory research, one of the main areas exploring subjective aspects of memory, produce similar response patterns when these questions are asked in different orders. The large sample size allowed us to conclude that while small effects are present, they are not large enough to question the substantive conclusions from flashbulb memory research. However, several other techniques should be used to evaluate reliability and we urge care in interpreting responses to questions of this type.