The Misinformation effect is when there is misleading information into someone’s memory of an event. This effect becomes important after a dramatic event when someone’s memory may be hazy due to adrenaline or stress (Arndt). One of the main researchers who developed the Misinformation effect was Elizabeth Loftus (Cherry), and her most notable experiment was having people watch a car crash, and asking them a series of questions about the crash. However, in the two groups she changed the way she asked the question, swaying the viewpoints of the people who watched the crash.
Why Does the Misinformation Effect Happens?
If, after a dramatic event, misleading information is presented to a subject, this information can either get blended into the memory or overwrite the memory completely. There has also been research into the idea that the newer misinformation is easier to retrieve, and that the original memory was never actually encoded to begin with (Arndt).
If the misleading information is presented after a longer period of time then it will be harder for the person to retrieve the original, correct information. Another way that information can be distorted is by talking to others who experienced it, or by watching the news. This is because almost everyone experiences a traumatic situation differently, so if one person shares their story you might bring some of their experiences into your story.
Why is the Misinformation Effect Important?
The Misinformation Effect is very important in witness accounts to crimes. The reason for this is because if the interrogator uses leading questions then a witness may be swayed to answer a certain way. This is also why witnesses are normally kept apart, because if they were allowed to speak together, then one-person misinformation could be spread to the other. When you are a witness to a crime the interrogators try to contact you as soon as possible to that you are not able to be swayed by news, or lose the memory over time.
When I was a child my brother got attacked by a dog, he was maybe 12 at the time and I was nine. He had been jumped on by a large black lab that bit his arm, back, and leg. We even have a picture of him at the time standing there, looking at his arm with teeth hanging out of his back. I can picture that entire memory like it was just a few years ago. However, at a family dinner just a year ago I found out that I wasn’t even awake that night. I was upstairs sleeping while my mom drove my brother to the emergency room. But in my mind, I can see his whole back and arm covered in scratches and the teeth still there. I have the vivid memory of my dad taking the picture, and sitting there wondering why he wasn’t more upset by the fact that a dog just buried his teeth in his back. Now I know that this memory was made by my mind, built off a collection of stories I had heard from my other family members that night. I hadn’t actually experienced any of the stress from that night, and I was actually totally oblivious as to what was going on.
Works Cited:
Arndt, Jason. “The Misinformation Effect.” Misinformation Effect – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, 2012, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/misinformation–effect.
Cherry, Kendra. “A Biography of Memory Expert Elizabeth Loftus.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 16 Sept. 2019, www.verywellmind.com/elizabeth-loftus-biography-2795496.
Coombs, Indie. “Eyewitness Testimony.” Mercercognitivepsychology [Licensed for Non-Commercial Use Only] / Eyewitness Testimony, 2014, mercercognitivepsychology.pbworks.com/w/page/33071707/Eyewitness%20Testimony.
I enjoyed reading your post because I also wrote about misinformation, and some of your information supports my post. I wrote about a man who had to live in prison for 17 years because of the false witness testimony. The boy was sure about his witness, but what he remembered was wrong. A psychology professor, who is a memory specialist, said it was the “mugshot exposure phenomenon,” which is the misinformation between the mugshot and the actual person the witnesses saw. The research that “newer misinformation is easier to retrieve” from your post explains why the eyewitness had misinformation effects in their brains. Since he saw the mugshot after he witnessed the crime, it would be easier for him to retrieve the memory of seeing the mugshot. Then the wrong memory led him to believe that he remembers the person from the mugshot at the crime scene. I agree with you that the misinformation effect is very important in the witness accounts to crime because it could send innocent people to prison.
I really like reading your post because I know someone who has experienced the misinformation effect. Now after reading your post I truly understand what the misinformation effect is and how it works. Before I was born a family friend was going through the result of this effect. He was in a convenient store as someone came into the building and started demanding money from the cashier and the other workers. The family friend was in the convenient store as this was taking place and was just so happening to be wearing the same jacket as the thief who has entered the store. Lots of people were in the store when it happened but nobody could see the mans face who had done it only a little bit. The person left before the cops could arrive and therefore they did not have a suspect yet. A boy who was in the store pointed at my family friend and accused him when the police arrived. This could be because of the jacket and or the misinformation effect. The police did eventually catch the suspect and he was arrested, but the friend was questioned by the police because of the boy not realizing that the suspect ran away. As we started to talk about this in class I had realized that I had experienced or heard of something like this. All in all I liked reading your blog post and it was very relatable to an experience that I have heard of in the past.
I found your experience very interesting and can relate to it because I have experienced the misinformation effect before too. I played soccer in high school and during one of our games I was knocked unconscious from colliding heads with another player when attempting to head the soccer ball into the goal. After I regained consciousness one of my teammates told me that I had scored a goal. There was no score board at this venue and I never questioned him when he told me this. For the following week I had thought I had scored a goal on this play and even reconstructed the memory in my head. I could picture myself heading the ball and could even see the ball hitting the back of the net. I realized this had never happened about a week later after speaking to my coach about the event and it turns out the teammate who told me I had scored was kidding. But this memory still felt very real which caused me to become confused. All together I enjoyed your post and was able to relate it to my own experience.