When A Lie Becomes Memory's Truth: Memory Distortion After Exposure to Misinformation

Abstract

ing is that after receipt of new infor mation that is misleading in some way, people make errors when they report what they saw. New, postevent information often be comes incorporated into a recollec tion, supplementing or altering it, sometimes in dramatic ways. New information invades us, like a Trojan horse, precisely because we do not detect its influence. Understanding how we become tricked by revised data about a witnessed event is a central goal of this research. Current research showing how memory can become skewed when people assimilate new data utilizes a simple paradigm. Participants first witness a complex event, such as a simulated violent crime or automo bile accident. Subsequently, half the participants receive new, mislead ing information about the event. The other half do not get any misinfor