The effect of consistency in pragmatic inferences on false memories

False memories are defined as instances in which an individual's memory is altered, leading them to recall events that never occurred or to remember actual events differently than they happened. The literature offers numerous methods for investigating false memories, one of which is pragmatic inferences. Pragmatic inferences refer to the indirect conclusions individuals draw after being exposed to certain sentences, interpreting their meaning beyond the literal content. This study examines the effect of pragmatic inferences and consistency in pragmatic inferences on false memories. To this end, two separate studies were conducted with a total of 60 participants aged between 18 and 30, half of whom took part in a pilot study and the other half in the main study. The data collection instruments included a demographic information form, 69 pragmatic inference sentences (37 sentences in the pilot study and 32 sentences categorized according to pragmatic inference consistency), and 36 abstract visual stimuli. The pragmatic inference sentences were adapted from materials developed by Brewer (1977), McDermott and Chan (2006), and Carneiro et al. (2020). The abstract visuals consisted of colorful geometric patterns. During the experimental phase, participants were first presented with a set of sentences, followed by a three-minute distraction task involving abstract visuals shown sequentially. Finally, a recognition test was administered to assess the degree of false memory. The data were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test, which yielded two main findings. First, original sentences were found to be significantly less falsely remembered than pragmatic inference sentences. Second, no significant difference was found in false memory rates between consistent and inconsistent pragmatic inference sentences. The lack of a significant effect of pragmatic inferences and their consistency on false memories contradicts several previous studies. However, according to some explanations in the literature, both schema-congruent information and schema-incongruent information may trigger better memory through different mechanisms. These findings are discussed in light of the relevant literature.