The Misinformation Effect and the Type of Misinformation: Objects and the Temporal Structure of an Episode

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to modify the stimulus set used to test the misinformation effect developed by Takarangi and her colleagues. The narratives and memory tests were modified to include items asking about specific objects in the story and about the temporal structure of the events. To examine whether the new material could produce the misinformation effect, the author had 72 participants watch a video, read a narrative with misinformation about objects in the video or the temporal sequence in the video, and then take a memory recognition test. This study showed that the misinformation effect could be produced by the temporal misinformation, suggesting that participants were misled by the misinformation regardless of the type of misinformation. As a result of using the modified narratives and the memory test, researchers could examine the effects of multiple types of misinformation.