Discovering a major problem at work, Doug called Joan and discussed the problem with her at length. A few minutes later, his coworker Latesha called him, and Doug told Latesha about the problem. Later, Doug told a friend that Joan had said that fixing the problem would cost $10,000. But later when he looked at his handwritten notes of the two phone conversations, Doug discovered that Latesha, not Joan, had actually made the remark. The contradiction between what really happened and Doug's memory can best be explained by:
A) source confusion.
B) imagination inflation.
C) the context effect.
D) anterograde amnesia.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Source confusion is when a person attributes information to the wrong source. In this case, Doug incorrectly attributed the comment about the cost of fixing the problem to Joan instead of Latesha. This is a common memory error and can happen when memories become less detailed over time, making it difficult to distinguish between different sources of information.

Discovering a Major Problem at Work, Doug Called Joan and Discussed