Was that how it happened? Shaping our memory for personal experiences in conversation with others

Conversations with others can alter our memories for life events. Our purpose in relating a story, and how our audience receives it, are factors that influence our selection of what details to include. The account we produce on one occasion may be maintained in subsequent retellings. Ultimately, we may report--and in some case come to believe--narratives that are not entirely factual. In this article, we will discuss research on the processes through which our conversations with others can affect how we recall experienced events.