Steven J. Frenda

California State University, Los Angeles | CSULA · Department of Psychology

Significance False confessions occur surprisingly frequently in the context of interrogations and criminal investigations. Indeed, false confessions are thought to account for approximately 15–25% of wrongful convictions in the United States. Here we demonstrate that sleep deprivation increases the likelihood that a person will falsely confess to w...

Many studies have investigated factors that affect susceptibility to false memories. However, few have investigated the role of sleep deprivation in the formation of false memories, despite overwhelming evidence that sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function. We examined the relationship between self-reported sleep duration and false memories an...

In the largest false memory study to date, 5,269 participants were asked about their memories for three true and one of five fabricated political events. Each fabricated event was accompanied by a photographic image purportedly depicting that event. Approximately half the participants falsely remembered that the false event happened, with 27% remem...

Eyewitnesses are often called upon to report information about what they have seen. A wealth of research from the past century has demonstrated, however, that eyewitness memory is malleable and vulnerable to distorting influences, including the effects of misinformation. In this article, we review recent developments in research related to the misi...

Several laboratory techniques have been developed over the last few decades that reliably produce memory distortions. However, it is unclear whether false memory production in one experimental paradigm will predict susceptibility to false memories in other paradigms. In Experiment 1, 202 undergraduates participated in a misinformation experiment an...

In the current issue, Wixted, Mickes, and Fisher make the claim that eyewitness memory is not inherently unreliable. They also describe specific conditions under which an eyewitness’s confidence can be a reliable indicator of accuracy in the context of both recall and recognition. We argue, however, that calculating the probative value of eyewitnes...

Sleep deprivation is increasingly common and poses serious problems for optimal cognitive functioning. Here we review the empirical literature on the consequences of sleep loss for working memory. The bulk of the research suggests that sleep is essential for working memory. Sleep deprivation inhibits general attentional and mnemonic abilities and i...

Significance In a unique memory-distortion study with people with extraordinary memory ability, individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) were as susceptible as controls to false memory. The findings suggest that HSAM individuals reconstruct their memories using associative grouping, as demonstrated by a word-list task, and by...

Telomere shortness in human beings is a prognostic marker of ageing, disease, and premature morbidity. We previously found an association between 3 months of comprehensive lifestyle changes and increased telomerase activity in human immune-system cells. We followed up participants to investigate long-term effects. This follow-up study compared ten...

The present study evaluated the changes in emerging cardiac biomarkers, cognitive function, and social support measures after a comprehensive lifestyle intervention that included a low-fat, whole-foods, plant-based diet, exercise, stress management, and group support meetings. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 131 participants (59.2% women...

Given the recent interest in the concept of sexual addictions, it is instructive to study subjects with pedophilia alongside chemically addicted individuals and non-addicted controls in order to help identify which factors may determine the objects of people's respective addictions, as well as any factors that may predispose people to developing an...

Cross-sectional studies have reported inverse associations of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) with the body mass index (BMI). We evaluated whether changes in the BMI are associated with changes in BNP. A nested prospective cohort study of a lifestyle intervention (low-fat, whole-foods diet, exercise, stress management, and social support) was cond...

Clancy argues that children generally do not experience abuse as traumatic when it occurs but that often the trauma develops later, when "therapeutic culture dictates to victims how they should feel about their experience."

This observational study investigates whether persons with elevated coronary risk factors (CRFs > 3 and/or diabetes) and depression [i.e., ≥ 16 on the Center for Epidemiological Scale - Depression (CES-D)] can make changes in health behaviours over 3 months and improve depressive symptoms and other CRFs. Analyses were based on data from 310 men and...

To investigate the model of pedophilia as a disorder of addictive behavior, pedophiles and chemically addicted individuals were compared on personality traits potentially associated with impaired behavioral inhibition. Twenty-nine pedophiles, 25 opiate addicts (OA's), and 27 healthy controls were administered the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Hare Psy...

Cardiovascular symptom relief is a major indicator for revascularization procedures. To examine the effects of intensive lifestyle modification on symptom relief, we investigated changes in angina pectoris, coronary risk factors, quality of life, and lifestyle behaviors in patients with stable coronary artery disease enrolled in the multisite cardi...

To examine whether sexual offenders against children have fewer characteristics associated with impulsive-aggression and more characteristics associated with aberrant sexual arousal than do sexual offenders against adolescents and adults. Data on 837 sex offenders from the New York State Sex Offender Registry for the five counties of New York City...