Misinformation effect

The distortion of memory for an event after exposure to misleading information about it. It shows that later information can alter reports of what was originally experienced.

Post-event information: Information encountered after an event that can influence how the event is remembered. Misleading post-event details are the direct source of the effect.
Loftus and Palmer car-crash study: An experiment in which the verb used to ask about a car crash affected participants’ speed estimates. Its question wording produced a classic demonstration of post-event influence.
Memory impairment: A reduced ability to encode, retain, or retrieve information. The effect changes the content of reports, rather than simply making a memory unavailable.
Eyewitness misidentification: The mistaken identification of an innocent person as the perpetrator of a crime. Suggestive questioning and later information can influence witnesses’ memories and identifications.
Source-monitoring error: A failure to identify where a memory or piece of information came from. People may remember a suggested detail but mistake its source for the original event.
Lost in the mall technique: A procedure that tests whether people can be led to remember a childhood event that did not occur. It extended misinformation research from details of witnessed events to suggested autobiographical episodes.
Confabulation: The production of false or distorted memories without deliberate intent to deceive. It can resemble misinformation-based errors but often arises from different causes.
Forensic psychology: The application of psychological knowledge and methods to legal questions and proceedings. Memory research informs how courts assess eyewitness evidence and investigative procedures.
Memory conformity: A shift in a person's memory report toward information supplied by other people. Conversations can introduce details that later feel like firsthand memories.
False memory: A recollection of an event or detail that did not happen as remembered. Misinformation can contribute to reports of details that were absent from the original event.

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