You share a funny or interesting story at a social gathering believing it happened to you.
Later, you realize that the story was actually something you read in a book or saw in a movie, but your memory presented it as a personal experience. This is an example of cryptomnesia.
Cryptomnesia occurs when a person unconsciously remembers something and believes that they thought of it themselves. It can happen when a person encounters an idea or piece of information, but forgets where they saw it or heard it. Later, when they encounter the same idea or information again, they may think that they have come up with it themselves.
History of Cryptomnesia
The term “Cryptomnesia” was first mentioned by Théodore Flournoy, a Swiss psychologist known for studying the paranormal. In his 1901 book, "From India to the Planet Mars," he looked into the claims of Hélène Smith, a medium who said she could speak languages from Mars. Flournoy suggested that what Smith believed were Martian languages were actually distorted versions of earthly languages she had encountered but forgotten, showcasing an example of cryptomnesia.
Cryptomnesia was later popularized by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Jung was deeply interested in the human mind and the interactions between our conscious thoughts and unconscious influences. He identified cryptomnesia during his study of ‘collective unconscious’—a concept proposing that all human beings share a set of memories and ideas deriving from our ancestral past. His exploration helped establish the understanding that our minds could hold onto information that could resurface without our awareness.
Today, cryptomnesia has been recognized more broadly as interest in the subject of memory grew. It is now used to describe various instances where forgotten memories are mistakenly believed to be new ideas.
Notable cases
Cryptomnesia has surfaced in various intriguing and often high-profile cases throughout history, impacting literature, music, and academia. Here are three notable examples:
Friedrich Nietzsche:
One of the earliest discussed instances of cryptomnesia involves the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Carl Jung himself explored this case in his work on cryptomnesia.
Jung discussed how Nietzsche's book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" contained a passage that resembled a passage from "The Origin and Goal of History" by Jakob Burckhardt. Nietzsche was known to have attended Burckhardt's lectures and read his works, although many years prior to writing his own book. Jung suggested that Nietzsche might have forgotten the source of these ideas, only to later recall them as his own original thoughts.
Harrison v Bright Tunes:
The Harrison v. Bright Tunes Music Corp. case is one of the most famous legal battles involving cryptomnesia in the music industry. In 1971, former Beatle George Harrison was sued for copyright infringement by Bright Tunes Music Corp., the publisher of the song "He’s So Fine" by The Chiffons. Harrison's song "My Sweet Lord" was found to have substantial similarities to "He’s So Fine."
Ultimately, Harrison lost the case and the court ruled that Harrison had subconsciously copied the song, leading to a landmark case on cryptomnesia. Harrison admitted he had unintentionally remembered and replicated parts of a song he had heard years before.
Helen Keller:
As a child, Helen Keller wrote a story titled "The Frost King," which she sent to the director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. The director recognized similarities between Keller’s story and "The Frost Fairies" by Margaret Canby, a book Keller had been read years earlier.
An investigation ensued, and although Keller insisted she had no recollection of the original story, it was determined that she had experienced cryptomnesia.
Research about Cryptomnesia
One of the first studies aimed at exploring cryptomnesia was conducted by Brown and Murphy. They were interested in understanding how people might unintentionally plagiarize ideas within a group setting [1].
In this study, participants were gathered in groups and asked to list examples within certain categories, such as types of birds (e.g., parrot, canary, etc.). After some time, these participants were then asked to generate new examples that had not been mentioned before and recall which words they had personally generated.
The results revealed that about 3–9% of the time, individuals either inadvertently replicated someone else’s previously mentioned idea or falsely believed that an idea originally mentioned by another person was their own. This kind of memory error demonstrated how easily and unknowingly one could engage in what is essentially a form of plagiarism, not out of intent, but due to the quirks of human memory.
Following this original study, similar effects were observed using a variety of different tasks.
For example, in a study involving brainstorming sessions, individuals would often come up with "new" ideas that were, in fact, subtly introduced by others earlier in the session [2].
Recognizing and avoiding cryptomnesia
Cryptomnesia can be a tricky issue, particularly for those of us in creative fields, academics, writers, and anyone in roles requiring innovation. Recognizing and avoiding cryptomnesia is essential to maintain integrity and originality in one’s work. Here are some effective strategies and tools to help recognize and prevent this phenomenon:
Signs
Having a familiar feeling:
If an idea or piece of work feels overly familiar or comfortable as soon as it is developed, it may be worth investigating whether it is truly original or retrieved from a forgotten source.
Too easy to create:
Sometimes, ideas that seem to come too easily or fully formed could be sourced from past exposures.
Feedback from others:
When peers or colleagues point out similarities between your work and existing works, it might be a sign that cryptomnesia is at play.
Strategies to avoid cryptomnesia
Maintain detailed notes:
When researching or brainstorming, keep thorough notes about where ideas originated, whom you discussed them with, and what inspired you. This can serve as a reference to ensure the authenticity of your ideas.
Increase own awareness:
Educate yourself and others about cryptomnesia. Being aware of its existence and how it works increases your ability to spot it before it affects your work
Practice mindful creation:
Take your time during the creative process. Rushing can often lead to skipping critical thinking about where an idea may have originated. Mindfulness can help you differentiate between genuinely original ideas and those that may be influenced by past memories.
Tools to prevent cryptomnesia
Using plagiarism checkers:
Use plagiarism detection software like Turnitin, Copyscape, or Grammarly. These tools can help identify unintentional similarities between your work and pre-existing materials across the web and published works.
Digital note-taking apps:
Apps like Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, or Google Keep can help organize your sources and notes efficiently. You can easily search back through your notes to confirm the origin of your ideas.
- Reference management software: Tools like Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley not only help in managing and citing sources correctly but can also assist in tracking your thoughts and ideas.
Seeking feedback
Peer reviews: Regularly sharing your work with peers or mentors can provide fresh perspectives and catch potential cases of cryptomnesia. Others might recognize a source you’ve overlooked.
Workshops and discussions: Participating in group discussions and workshops can expose your ideas to scrutiny before finalization, helping to weed out any inadvertently borrowed elements.
Cryptomnesia poses intriguing questions about the nature of creativity and memory. By understanding its workings and implementing careful practice, we can safeguard the originality of our work while navigating the complex landscape of subconscious influences.
Sources Used
Brown, A. S., & Murphy, D. R. (1989). Cryptomnesia: Delineating inadvertent plagiarism. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15(3), 432-442. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-7393.15.3.432
Marsh, R. L., Landau, J. D., & Hicks, J. L. (1997). Contributions of inadequate source monitoring to unconscious plagiarism during idea generation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23(4), 886-897. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-7393.23.4.886
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