The Misinformation Effect
The Basic Idea
When you are in a relationship for a long time, you often tell stories together. Have you ever noticed how your story begins to change its mold as you retell it countless times at brunch? Perhaps it gets a little more dramatic, funnier, or scarier. Sometimes you and your partner might disagree on some of the details before agreeing on a middle ground. Other times you might recall the event with such great differences that you aren’t even sure your partner was there. “What are you talking about? You’re such a liar! We were in Montreal, not Toronto, and your mother wasn’t there, but the dog was.” However, both you and your partner could be telling the version that you wholeheartedly believe happened. One explanation for such occurrences is our mind’s tendency to experience the misinformation effect: when post-event information interferes with the original memory of an event.
Memory, like liberty, is a fragile thing
– Elizabeth Loftus, cognitive psychologist and memory researcher
About the Author
Maria Fomina
Maria is a Summer Associate at The Decision Lab whose main interests lie at the intersections of health and behavioral science. She has recently completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, majoring in global health and psychology, and minoring in immunology. Before joining TDL, Maria helped start Doctrina, the educational program of Pendance film festival. In her free time, she does translations for the Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice, an NGO promoting a humane drug policy in Russia.
