Ananya Kulkarni (Week 13) - The Misinformation Effect
What is the misinformation effect? According to an article by verwellmind.com, the misinformation effect refers to the tendency of post-event information to interfere and rewrite the memory of the original event.
In the 1970s, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus conducted a study where she asked participants a few questions that had misleading words and phrases about the event they previously witnessed. The participants were shown a video of a traffic accident and were asked questions about what they observed. Some of them were then asked the question, "How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" The rest of the participants were asked to estimate the speed of the car when they "smashed into each other." Additionally, the participants were asked a follow-up question after a week that said, "Did you see any broken glass?"
What Loftus found was that those questions had distorted the participants' memory of the event as they had recounted it with slight changes and even made up new details. The people who were asked to estimate the speed of the cars when they "smashed into each other," usually reported that the cars were going at higher speeds than the people who answered the question the word "hit." The people who were asked the question with the word "smashed" were also more likely to report that they say broken glass when in reality, there was no broken glass.
Learning from the misinformation effect, it is important to realize that people are susceptible to influences on their own memories. It is also important to check your facts before spreading information as it can affect the memory and beliefs of others. Whether it be just by talking to others about an event or repeated exposure to incorrect information through the news and social media, the misinformation effect can have serious consequences on people's lives and the entire world.
Hi Ananya, I read your blog, and I find it to be very informative on the topic of misinformation. As the human mind tends to forget events after a certain time frame, the memory of humans isn’t perfect. This inconsistency causes humans to be vulnerable to outside influences, which can affect their memory of certain events to change.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy to learn how quickly misinformation can spread. If a simple alteration in wording can completely change witnesses’ views of a car accident, what other “facts” are actually fiction? Elizabeth Loftus has also done significant research exploring the accuracy of repressed memories--and she has found that others’ questions can “evoke” or even alter forgotten childhood “memories.”
ReplyDeleteHi Ananya
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the many examples of how misinformation can influence the public mind. Such false info is especially harmful on social media websites as it can harm the way that people think. Group think is a similar phenomenon here. When people are convinced that majority of people think a certain way, they will begin to think the same way. It is used for crucial topics such as the corona virus and presidential elections.
Hi Ananya, I think your blog captured the gist of misinformation perfectly! I can't tell you how many times I've heard the words "Oh, nevermind, I think I heard that wrong." The way we hear words can make the biggest difference, as misinterpreting something can cause chaos and confusion. Because of this, I'm always mindful of what I say, and I always make sure what I say is true or makes sense.
ReplyDeleteHi Ananya, your blog was really interesting. Misinformation is sadly a large part of our world now, and it is interesting to see how it can affect people. It is a bit scary to think that a few suggestive words can overwrite our memory. It just reminds us to be careful to sort the fact from fiction before we act on it.
ReplyDeleteHi Ananya, I thought your blog post was really informative and shed light on the destructive powers of misinformation. It is honestly a little worrisome that something as personal as our own memories can be so easily manipulated with misinformation. But the more that I think about it, the more this truth makes sense; after all, memories are the sum of our experiences, and when we experience falsehoods, our memories are altered accordingly.
ReplyDeleteHey Ananya, your blog is a nice intro into memory and the effects we have in the distortion of our memories. I have heard and found out that memories are often distorted because of the emotions you are feeling and how you would've preferred that event to go. It changes the memory into a more emotionally driven farce that is viewed as a memory.
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