Chapter 1. Misinformation Effect

Introduction

This experiment is a replication of one of Elizabeth Loftus’s Misinformation Effect experiments. Loftus found that the accuracy of what is remembered from a particular situation relies to some extent upon the style and content of the questions asked of witnesses. Lawyers are well aware of this fact and tailor their questions to elicit the responses they seek. This was Loftus’s original inspiration for this work—the idea that eyewitness testimony can be altered or enhanced witnesses’ interactions with the police or attorneys after the fact. Defense attorneys have often called upon Loftus as an expert witness to testify to the fallibility of eyewitness testimony.

Loftus, E. F. (2005). Planting misinformation in the human mind: A 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory. Learning & Memory, 12, 361-366.

Loftus, E. F. (2005). Searching for the neurobiology of the misinformation effect. Learning & Memory, 12, 1-2.

Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974). Reconstruction of an automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13, 585-589.

Experiment Setup

Figure 1.1

Instructions

You will need to press the space bar to begin the experiment. You will then be shown a film. When it ends, you will be asked a series of questions about it. Please answer as accurately as you can.

Experiment

Figure 1.2

Results

Figure 1.3

Quiz