Misinformation Effect

“You saw an accident. Later, someone retells it with a new detail. Which scene will the memory belong to?”

01 / PLAINLY

What it means, plainly

A misleading detail learned after an event can become mixed into what someone later reports remembering.

02 / CONTEXT

A little more

Misleading information received after an event can alter a later memory report. Question wording, delay, and the source of the new detail affect whether it becomes incorporated.

03 / WHY IT MATTERS

Why it matters

The wording of questions or the sharing of other accounts can contaminate a report that is later treated as an independent memory.

04 / EXAMPLE

A familiar example

Asking how fast two cars were going when they “smashed” can yield different estimates than asking when they “contacted.”

05 / LIMIT

What it does not mean

It does not show that every memory is false or that recollection can be rewritten without limits.

06 / NOTICE

Notice it in your day

After an ordinary event, first write what you saw in your own words. If you ask someone else, use an open question that supplies no suggested detail.

FINAL NOTE

The idea worth keeping

Record your own account before hearing other versions, and avoid questions that suggest an answer.

QUESTIONS / 02

Questions people still have

Does this effect show that every memory is false?

No. It shows that some later information can alter a report; it does not make all memory false.

Is the new detail added deliberately?

Not necessarily. A changed memory report does not imply an intention to deceive.