Misinformation Effect
Post-event information interferes with original memories of the event.
The misinformation effect occurs when a person's recall of episodic memories becomes less accurate because of post-event information. It was identified by Elizabeth Loftus and her colleagues. When a person witnesses an event and is later asked misleading questions about it, they often incorporate the false information into their memory of the event. This has significant implications for legal testimony.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Stop Sign Experiment Witnesses to an accident who are subsequently asked about 'the stop sign' (when there was a yield sign) later misremember a stop sign being present.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
Paul thought his neighbor was friendly. A rumor later said the neighbor was rude. Now, Paul avoids the neighbor, recalling past interactions as unfriendly.
During a fire drill, Chris remembered exiting through the east stairwell. A safety officer later said the east stairwell was blocked and everyone used the west one. Chris now recalls using the west stairwell.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
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