false memory theory

False memory theory suggests that people can remember events or details that never actually happened, often influenced by suggestion, imagination, or misinformation. Our memory isn’t a perfect record; it’s reconstructed each time we recall it, which can lead to inaccuracies. Factors like stress, leading questions, or social pressures can cause individuals to develop confident but inaccurate memories. This phenomenon highlights the malleability of human memory and explains how people can hold vivid, yet false, recollections of past experiences.