Abstract
When asked “How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark?”, most people respond with “Two”, even though it was Noah, not Moses, who took the animals on the ark in the biblical story. This is known as the Moses illusion (Erickson & Mattson, 1981). People tend to respond to faulty (i.e., distorted) questions as if the questions were correct (i.e., undistorted), even though the correct response in this case would be “can’t say”. We illustrate the basic Moses illusion paradigm, review different explanations of the illusion as well as moderators (i.e., what strengthens or attenuates the illusion), and discuss implications for research on language comprehension and for real life.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
