Mandela effect.

The Mandela effect, sometimes referred to as the Mandela phenomenon, is an instance of false collective memory. The Mandela effect is a type of false memory that occurs when many different people incorrectly remember the same thing. It refers to a widespread false memory that Nelson Mandela, South African human rights activist and eventual president, died in prison in the 1980s.

Memory is highly malleable. Input from other people can change memories, causing people to misremember events or remember events that never happened. Some potential causes of the Mandela effect include:

False memories

False memories are untrue or distorted recollections of an event. Some false memories contain elements of fact, closely resembling the actual event in question. However, others are entirely false.

Memory is very suggestible. This means that information from another person, a person’s desire to believe something different, or false information online can influence memory.

People can believe a wide variety of false things. For example, scientists have been able to falsely induce memories of committing a crime. In one study, people could not distinguish false from real memories.

Researchers have even discovered a simple method of inducing false memories, called the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task paradigm. During the DRM task paradigm, participants read a list of related words, such as:

zebra

monkey

whale

snake

elephant

After reading the list, researchers will ask the participants whether or not they recall a “lure word,” which is a related word that is not on the list.

Usually, the participants will recognise the lure word and recall reading it, even though it was never on the list.

Confabulations are Trusted Source false memories a person spontaneously generates, often to compensate for holes in a person’s memory.

For example, a person who does not recall what happened to Nelson Mandela might conclude that he died a long time ago, then report remembering this “fact.” The person is not lying. They truly believe the false memory.

Confabulation is a common symptom Trusted Source of neurological conditions that affect memory, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. When a person with dementia confabulates, they are not lying or attempting to deceive. They simply do not have the necessary information or awareness to recall a specific memory or event accurately.

In psychology, priming describes a phenomenon in which exposure to a stimulus directly influences a person’s response to a subsequent stimulus. For example, if a person reads or hears the word “grass,” they will recognise another related word, such as “tree” or “lawnmower,” more quickly than an unrelated word.

Priming uses suggestive techniques to trigger a certain response. For instance, “Did you grab the red ball from the shelf?” is much more suggestive than the phrase, “Did you take anything from the shelf?”

This is because the second phrase contains a general, open-ended question, while the first describes the action of grabbing a specific object: “the” red ball. Therefore, the first phrase has a stronger influence on memory than the second.

Alternate realities or parallel universes

Broome describes the Mandela effect as a clear memory of an event that never occurred in this reality. Her explanation ties into several popular theories that suggest that the Mandela effect occurs when our reality interacts with other alternate realities or parallel universes. While these explanations draw upon real theories in physics, they lack scientific support.

For example, some people argue that the Mandela effect provides evidence for multiple universes. Some physicists, drawing on theories such as string theory, argue that there are infinite possible universes.

Scientists have not tested the claim that the Mandela effect provides evidence for multiple universes. Evidence from memory research suggests that other theories of false memory might better explain the phenomenon.

While mathematical modelling supports string theory and the notion of multiple universes, both remain controversial.

Internet influence

The concept of the Mandela effect continues to gain popular support on blogs. Some of these blogs argue the Mandela effect is evidence of multiple universes. Others use the Mandela effect to promote false claims and spread conspiracies.

The internet is a potent tool for spreading false memories and beliefs. Drawing upon the basic principles of memories, some websites may be able to convince people to believe things that never happened by using tactics such as:

combining false information with true information

repeating a false claim so often that it begins to seem true

spreading fake news stories to support a false claim

Features

Features of the Mandela effect can include:

having distorted memories in which some aspects are partially or entirely inaccurate

clearly remembering entire events that did not happen

several unrelated people sharing similar distorted or inaccurate memories

The Mandela effect occurs when a person believes that their distorted memories are, in fact, accurate recollections. They can clearly remember events that happened differently or events that never occurred at all.

The Mandela effect does not involve lying or deception. Instead, it occurs when a person or group has clear but false memories.