Abstract
This article reviews the major empirical results and theoretical issues from over 20 years of research on people’s acceptance of false information about recently experienced events (see, e.g., Loftus, 1975). Several theoretical perspectives are assessed in terms of their ability to account for the various and sometimes conflicting results in the literature. Theoretical perspectives reviewed include the trace alteration hypothesis, the blocking hypothesis, the task demands/strategic effects hypothesis, source monitoring, and an activation-based semantic memory account. On the basis of its ability to account for the reviewed data and other cognitive phenomena, an activation-based semantic network model of memory is suggested for understanding the data and planning future research in the area.
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Preparation of this manuscript was supported by Grant N00014-95-1-0223 from the Office of Naval Research, Grant 1R01 MH52808-01 from the National Institutes of Mental Health, and AFOSR Grant F49620-97-1-0054. The authors wish to thank Brad Best for his comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and Alison Clark for her comments on all versions of the manuscript. M.S.A. is now at the School of Education, University of Pittsburgh.
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Ayers, M.S., Reder, L.M. A theoretical review of the misinformation effect: Predictions from an activation-based memory model. Psychon Bull Rev 5, 1–21 (1998). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209454
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209454