Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In psychology, subconscious memory; memory exercised by the subliminal self.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun psychology The phenomenon of the reappearance of a long-forgotten memory as if it were a new experience

Etymologies

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Examples

  • One trick is called cryptomnesia, or hidden memory.3 A delirious person may suddenly speak in a strange language he apparently never learned.

    Experiencing the Next World Now Michael Grosso 2004

  • One trick is called cryptomnesia, or hidden memory.3 A delirious person may suddenly speak in a strange language he apparently never learned.

    Experiencing the Next World Now Michael Grosso 2004

  • One trick is called cryptomnesia, or hidden memory.3 A delirious person may suddenly speak in a strange language he apparently never learned.

    Experiencing the Next World Now Michael Grosso 2004

  • What is called cryptomnesia in one context is known as social learning theory in another.

    You Didn’t Plagiarize, Your Unconscious Did 2009

  • And if it is real, is unconscious copying (or "cryptomnesia" to those who study the phenomenon) preventable?

    You Didn’t Plagiarize, Your Unconscious Did 2009

  • Nevertheless, the phenomenon of "cryptomnesia", of mistakenly treating something one has heard as a memory of one's own experience, is a documented psychological phenomenon.

    Mistaken Memories James F. McGrath 2009

  • Nevertheless, the phenomenon of "cryptomnesia", of mistakenly treating something one has heard as a memory of one's own experience, is a documented psychological phenomenon.

    Archive 2009-01-01 James F. McGrath 2009

  • Over the last 20 years, Marsh has designed numerous models for studying cryptomnesia in the lab.

    You Didn’t Plagiarize, Your Unconscious Did 2009

  • Henry Roediger, a memory expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said that cryptomnesia is partially caused by the lopsidedness of our memories: it's easier to remember information than it is to remember its source.

    You Didn’t Plagiarize, Your Unconscious Did 2009

  • This disconnect, coupled with errors in remembering the source of ideas, words, or even whole phrases, may be responsible for cryptomnesia.

    You Didn’t Plagiarize, Your Unconscious Did 2009

Comments

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  • (n): a buried memory.

    October 11, 2008

  • More specifically, a memory that masquerades as original inspiration. The bane of songwriters.

    October 16, 2008

  • Mary had a big black sheep

    His fleece was black as coal

    Looks like I fleeced somebody's poem...

    December 12, 2008

  • And for the place where galaxies weep

    I'm knitting a giant black hole.

    December 12, 2008

  • Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

    September 29, 2010

  • explanation for plagiarism

    December 4, 2010