Abstract
The present study examined the effect of working memory capacity in false memory elicited by the DRM paradigm in two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 31, 80.6% female, age M = 21.29 years, SD = 4.26; Experiment 2: N = 29, 72.4% female, age M = 20.28 years, SD = 3.02). A concurrent digit load task was introduced to reduce available working memory capacity for the DRM task. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that false recall of critical lures was marginally higher when participants had a concurrent digit load task. While the initial increase in the digit load increased false recognition of critical lures, a further increase in the digit load reduced false recognition. In Experiment 2, participants were forewarned about the tendency of associative lists to elicit false memory of critical lures. Results from Experiment 2 demonstrated that while the concurrent digit load task did not affect false memory, warning instructions significantly reduced false recognition of critical lures.