Confabulation - Characteristic Features

Characteristic Features

1. Typically verbal statements but can also be non-verbal gestures or actions.
2. Can include autobiographical and non-personal information, such as historical facts, fairytales, or other aspects of semantic memory.
3. The account can be fantastic or coherent.
4. Both the premise and the details of the account can be false.
5. The account is usually drawn from the patient’s memory of actual experiences, including past and current thoughts.
6. The patient is unaware of the accounts’ distortions or inappropriateness, and is not concerned when errors are pointed out.
7. There is no hidden motivation behind the account.
8. The patient’s personality structure may play a role in their readiness to confabulate.