Misinformation effect
From Deliberative Democracy Institiute Wiki
The misinformation effect refers to the finding that exposure to misleading information presented between the encoding of an event and its subsequent recall causes impairment in memory.[1][2] This effect occurs when participants' recall of an event they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading postevent information.[3] It is a prime example of retroactive interference, which occurs when information presented later interferes with the ability to retain previously encoded information. Essentially, the new information that a person receives works backward in time to distort memory of the original event.The misinformation effect has been studied for over 30 years. Elizabeth Loftus is one of the most influential researchers in the field.
The misinformation effect reflects two of the cardinal sins of memory: suggestibility, the influence of others' expectations on our memory; and misattribution, information attributed to an incorrect source. Research on the misinformation effect has uncovered concerns about the permanence and reliability of memory.[4]
Obert and Blank suggested that the misinforamtion effect can be undone[5].
References
- ↑ Loftus, E. (2005). "Planting misinformation in the human mind: A 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory". Learning & Memory 12 (4): 361–366.
- ↑ Robinson-Riegler, B., & Robinson-Riegler, G. (2004). Cognitive Psychology, Applying the Science of the Mind. Allyn & Bacon. p. 313.
- ↑ Weiten, W (2010). Psychology themes and variations. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. p. 292.
- ↑ Saudners, J.; MacLeod, Malcolm D. (2002). "New evidence on the suggestibility of memory: The role of retrieval-induced forgetting in misinformation effects". Journal of Experimental Psychology 8 (2): 127–142.
- ↑ Oeberst A, Blank H., Undoing suggestive influence on memory: The reversibility of the eyewitness misinformation effect., Cognition. 2012 Aug 7