Abstract

Societal structures and theoretical models of memory organization share network-like features, suggesting potential mutual insights into how information spreads and shapes collective memories. Here, we used experimental manipulations of the topological structure in lab-created community networks during a computer-mediated conversational recall task of lists of words from a DRM paradigm to test a central premise from the spreading of activation account in cognitive psychology: the emergence of true and false memories. We hypothesized that social network structure, whether clustered or not, would influence the formation of true and false memories. We found that information exchange promoted true memories in clustered networks by reinforcing the mnemonic convergence of the community members’ memories. Conversely, nonclustered networks lead to a greater number of false memories by increasing widespread cross-activation of nonoverlapping memories, blurring the boundaries between true and false memories. Current findings provide empirical evidence that mnemonic spreading within the social network influenced the emergence of true and false memories and highlight the dynamic interplay between network topology, memory dynamics, and collective knowledge evolution, shedding light on memory processes in both individual and social contexts.