Charles Brainerd and Valerie Reyna (2005) provide a comprehensive review of the empirically based false memory literature in their book The Science of False Memory. After an interesting historical overview and description of modern theories about false memories in Part I, the book is divided into two major sections: basic research and applied research. Throughout the book, Brainerd and Reyna discuss both basic and applied research findings within the context of an opponent process theory, known as the fuzzy trace theory. Their theory posits that there are two types of independent memory traces that are formed when we encounter new information: a verbatim trace which represents the exact details of the information, and a gist trace which represents inferences and general features of the information. Interestingly, Brainerd and Reyna's theory can explain various types of false memory research findings, some of which have proven elusive for other theories of false memory. Different theories, such as activation-monitoring, are given minor mentions early in the book but are rarely if ever discussed again; thus, it is difficult for a reader interested in theoretical puzzles to compare and contrast various theories used to explain false memories.
In Part II, basic laboratory research is described at length. Chapter 3 explains how various theories about memory have served as precursors to opponent process theories. In particular, they discuss their fuzzy trace theory at length while giving minor credence to other current theories of false memories. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on adults and children, respectively. Both chapters are organized in terms of memory storage, retrieval and forgetting processes as they relate to false memories. In Chapter 4, the authors provide fairly dense descriptions of various types of laboratory-based research that supports fuzzy trace theory. It soon becomes clear to the reader how much potential opponent process theories, such as fuzzy trace, have for explaining and predicting the occurrence of false memories. Chapter 5 is lengthy and focuses on laboratory research with children and adolescents. The authors note the importance of considering developmental interactions when differentiating between adults' and children's false memories. For example, Brainerd and Reyna describe how verbatim processing increases with age, such that older children and adults are less likely to falsely remember information than younger children. However, upon examination of gist processing, there are substantial age interactions and there is no such simple linear relationship between gist processing and false memory creation. Upon reading Part II, the authors leave the reader with a solid, scientific base of knowledge upon which applied aspects of false memory research can be built.
In Part III, the authors write extensively about applied research in the areas of eyewitness interviewing in adults and children, eyewitness identification in adults, children's eyewitness testimony and false memories that emerge from psychotherapy. As in Part II, there are separate chapters on research with adults and with children, and there is an additional chapter on false memories in psychotherapy. In each chapter, case examples are described at length in narrative form to provide the reader with examples in which false memories were created and typically led to legal consequences. The authors also provide research examples to explain various forms of false memories from the opponent process perspective. Theoretical explanations are structured in similar form as earlier in the book, that is, in terms of memory storage, retrieval and forgetting. However, the focus of the chapters in Part III is to caution others of the likelihood of creating false memories and to emphasize how such phenomena are rooted in psychological research. For instance, in Chapter 6 (adults), Brainerd and Reyna provide two very comprehensive tables of factors supported by research evidence that may bias forensic interviewing and eyewitness identification. In Chapter 7 (children), APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY