Abstract
The current study examined the effects of different delivery modes of misinformation on false memory creation in adolescents and adults. Forty adolescents (14-15 year olds) and fifty-three adults (over 18) were instructed to watch a video. Following this, half of the participants were given direct-with interaction misinformation, in which misinformation was delivered by the experimenter and participants (co-witnesses) were able to interact before their memory was tested. The other half of the participants were given direct-without interaction misinformation, in which they listened to a narrative read aloud by the experimenter, without interacting. Lastly, all participants completed a memory test. We found that participants in the direct-without interaction group were more likely to report false memories compared to the direct-with interaction group. Furthermore, adolescents endorsed more misinformation details than adults. Our results provide a new perspective about the role of social factors in the occurrence of false memories.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 208-216 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Cognitive Psychology |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 26 Oct 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 17 Feb 2022 |
Keywords
- False memories
- age
- misinformation
- direct-with interaction
- direct-without interaction
- co-witness discussions
- SOCIAL CONTAGION
- CONFORMITY
- CHILD