What is the misinformation effect?

Elizabeth Loftus, answered from the texts and cited to the page.

Elizabeth Loftus answers

The misinformation effect is the finding that exposure to misleading information after witnessing an event can alter what a person later remembers about that event.1 The distortions it produces are not subtle. In my studies, people remembered seeing yield signs when they had actually seen stop signs, a man with curly hair when his hair was straight, broken glass that was never there.2

A barn appeared in a bucolic scene that contained no buildings at all.3 The basic procedure behind this research is straightforward: subjects witness a complex event — a simulated accident or crime — then some receive misleading post-event information and others do not, and finally all attempt to recall what they originally saw.4 Those who received the misinformation consistently showed less accurate memories.5

And by every measure, they appeared to genuinely believe what they were reporting — confident enough, in some studies, to bet money on it.6 What makes this matter beyond the laboratory is that misinformation is everywhere in the real world. People pick it up from leading questions, from talking to other witnesses, from media coverage that gets details wrong.7

When police or lawyers question witnesses carelessly, they can modify the very memories those witnesses will later offer under oath.8 That is why the research carries weight in courtrooms — not to discredit witnesses as liars, but to show that memory is a constructive activity, gathering bits and pieces from different sources, and that the construction can go wrong.9

Sources

  1. The misinformation effect is the finding that if people receive misleading information about previously witnessed event, often incorporate misinformation their memories of the event.
    Memory Blindness, p. 718
  2. People remembered seeing yield signs when they had actually seen stop signs or a guy with curly hair when actually it was straight.
    Elizabeth F (Loftus (Autobiography) In Lindzey, G & Runyan, M (Eds) History of Psychology in Autobiography Vol IX Washington, DC- APA p 198-227, 2007), p. 11
  3. People have recalled nonexistent broken glass and tape recorders, a clean-shaven man as having a mustache, straight hair as curly, stop signs as yield signs, hammers as screwdrivers, and even something large conspicuous and as a barn in a bucolic scene that contained no buildings at all.
    Made in Memory- Distortions of recollection after misleading information (In G Bower (Ed.) Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 27, 187-215 NY- Academic Press, 1991), pp. 1–2
  4. Subject witnesses first saw a complex event such as a simulated crime or accident. Later, some were exposed to misleading information and others were not. Finally, all tried to recall what they had originally seen.
    Elizabeth F (Loftus (Autobiography) In Lindzey, G & Runyan, M (Eds) History of Psychology in Autobiography Vol IX Washington, DC- APA p 198-227, 2007), p. 11
  5. The typical finding was that those who had received the misinformation had less accurate memories.
    Elizabeth F (Loftus (Autobiography) In Lindzey, G & Runyan, M (Eds) History of Psychology in Autobiography Vol IX Washington, DC- APA p 198-227, 2007), p. 11
  6. by every measure they strongly appear to genuinely believe; for example, they are frequently so confident about the memories, they are willing to bet money on them.
    Elizabeth F (Loftus (Autobiography) In Lindzey, G & Runyan, M (Eds) History of Psychology in Autobiography Vol IX Washington, DC- APA p 198-227, 2007), p. 11
  7. People pick up misinformation when they are asked leading/misleading questions. They pick it up when they talk to other witnesses and share memory reports that are sometimes erroneous. They pick up misinformation when they are exposed to media coverage that is not quite right, and it too can contaminate their memory.
    Memory, but not memory, p. 2
  8. carelessly worded questioning by police and lawyers or other investigators can modify memories of events about which people would later have to testify.
    Memory, but not memory, p. 2
  9. The findings support the notion that the process of remembering involves a highly constructive activity that gathers bits and pieces from different sources and 'constructs' a memory.
    Made in Memory- Distortions of recollection after misleading information (In G Bower (Ed.) Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 27, 187-215 NY- Academic Press, 1991), pp. 1–2