with several 'lure' words (words that are semantically similar to the previously studied words but not the same) and new words. if the participant is successful in this task, they have distinguished between the previously learned words and the lure words. this experiment can be tested multiple times with the same participant over different time periods (e.g.: 3 months later then tested again 6 months later). results participants are more likely to show source amnesia with the 'lure' words but not with the newly presented words. this means that they confuse the familiarity of the semantically similar words with words that they studied in the original list. prevention research suggests that source amnesia results from poor memory encoding of a particular context opposed to poor retrieval of a context specific memory, except within the case of amnesiacs. this is because content must be encoded along with context in order for the two to be integrated into memory. since poor encoding may be responsible for source amnesia, it is not likely that a person will be able to retrieve a specific source memory in the future if it was not properly encoded. this makes it difficult to create treatments for source amnesia because the information may not be integrated properly within the brain. certain prevention strategies have been studied in order to target at-risk populations and teach them how to prevent the loss of contextual memory as well as how to improve source memory in the general population. general population while source amnesia appears to be the most prevalent in populations with specific brain impairments, it is possible for individuals without deficits in memory to experience source amnesia. this may happen if a person only encodes content and does not integrate the context-specific information into memory. research suggests that context-specific information is better recalled in situations that involve emotional stimuli or words. this suggests that source memory may benefit from thinking about emotions related to the content in order to better encode source related information. this is related to theories on flashbulb memory. children children are more likely to correctly identify source information if they have been taught to think about the relation between the speaker and the information being shared. this holds true whether the children think about perceptual or emotional ties to the speaker but the effect appears larger when emotional context is considered. the increase in accurate source encoding is not without a cost as it was demonstrated that children who improved their source encoding typically remembered less than controls when it came to recalling semantic or non-source information. this suggests that there may be a trade-off when it comes to different types of memory in children because they are only able to attend to a certain amount of information at one time. older adults older adults may have memory impairments as a result of the natural aging process. these memory impairments may be due to degeneration of the frontal lobe and other age related changes. it is very common for older adults to experience increased source amnesia for memories compared to younger adults. prevention of source amnesia in older adults may include memory training programs in an attempt to increase cortical thickness in the brain. research suggests that even the brains of older adults may be capable of continuing plasticity. in one particular study, older adults were exposed to 8-week long memory training programs. these memory-training programs involved serial memory recall practice using mental imagery as a mnemonic device. adults involved in the memory-training program showed significant improvement in their source memory specifically. in addition to the memory benefits, increased cortical thickness was shown using mri scans. while this research has not been tested in a longitudinal study, it suggests that older adults and perhaps other at-risk groups for source amnesia could benefit from explicit memory training exercises. another way in which older adults can avoid source amnesia is to think about the relationship between the content and context of an experience or memory. this preventative measure must be taken when information is being encoded in order to direct attention to the source and to be aware of how it relates to the content. participants experiencing source amnesia performed at the same level of groups not at risk of source amnesia when these strategies were implicated suggesting that those who do not experience this memory deficit may integrate content and context implicitly. implications in eyewitness testimony eyewitness testimonies are an integral aspect in the criminal court system as judges and juries depend on them as evidence to determine a verdict. however, studies have shown that source amnesia can interfere with a witness's memory because any incorrect post-event information encountered, results in distorted memories and source confusion. post-event information can come from leading questions, statements made by the media or co-witnesses. since improper encoding causes source amnesia, witnesses who are stressed or distracted during the event and fail to pay attention are susceptible to encoding wrong details into their memory, claiming to have seen things they only imagined. this causes grave legal implications given that it can result in wrongful convictions; therefore, it is important that interrogation practices are carefully carried out. related phenomena post-hypnotic amnesia post-hypnotic source amnesia is the phenomenon where an individual is taught obscure information while under hypnosis and then asked to recall this information during their conscious state, however, they do not remember how or when that knowledge was taught to them. studies have shown that subjects are unable to remember anything that occurred during hypnosis and when asked how they acquired the knowledge to answer the questions, they tended to rationalize their incapability to indicate how they learned it. this phenomenon is similar to flashbulb memories or tip-of-the-tongue. misattributed familiarity misattributed familiarity is the failure to recall the correct source of where the information came from and instead, the individual attributes the knowledge to an incorrect source. this results from an error in the decision-making process that confuses the origin of the information. cryptomnesia cryptomnesia occurs when an individual is certain that a certain word, idea, song, etc. is their own original thought when in actuality it was retrieved from memory without their knowledge, resulting in accidental plagiarism. in order to prevent this, source monitoring is required to avoid attributing the thought as one's own. however, this slows down the quick retrieval of memory needed in daily life, such as in conversation. this has seen to occur in the music industry and has the implication of copyright infringement over songs, as well as in the formation of scientific research ideas.