Source monitoring decides whether a memory feels real

Correct: B — Characteristics of the trace such as perceptual detail, contextual information, and cognitive operations

Johnson, Hashtroudi, and Lindsay (1993) proposed that source monitoring — distinguishing where a memory came from (perceived, imagined, told to us) — relies on attribute heuristics applied to the trace at retrieval. Real perceptual events typically carry more sensory detail (vivid sights, sounds), more contextual information (time, place), and fewer self-generated cognitive operations than imagined events. When these attributes overlap (e.g., a vividly imagined or repeatedly rehearsed event), source confusions occur — explaining false memories, imagination inflation, and parts of eyewitness misidentification. The framework gave a mechanistic alternative to assuming memory is simply true or false.