Circuitry within a ferroelectric memory prevents inversion of the polarization of ferroelectric memory cells caused by a power on reset signal to avoid corruption of data stored therein. A ferroelectric memory includes a memory cell array, a plurality of word lines commonly connected to the gates of the cell transistors in the same row, a plurality of plate lines commonly connected to the plates of the cell capacitors in the same row, a plurality of bit lines commonly connected to one end of the cell transistors in the same row, and a power on reset circuit for generating a power on reset signal of a predetermined level for a predetermined period of time after the power supply is turned on. An erroneous programming prevention circuit within the memory includes a plurality of switching transistors connected between all of the bit lines and plate lines and a plurality of nodes at a predetermined potential. The switching transistors are controlled by the power on reset signal so that they are on for a predetermined period of time.