The Butler Didn't Do It! The Continued Influence of Implied vs. Directly Stated Misinformation.

News stories unfold over time causing some information to be reported before all the facts are known. This can lead to the reporting of mistaken information, or misinformation, that is later corrected once the truth becomes known. Studies of the <i>continued influence effect</i> (e.g., Johnson & Seifert, 1994) have shown that corrections are not entirely effective in reversing the effects of initial misinformation. Rather, considerable evidence has shown that even when participants remember and report the correction, discredited misinformation continues to influence participants’ attitudes and beliefs in subtle ways. The goal of the current study was to investigate how the nature of the initial misinformation contributes to the incidence and magnitude of the continued influence effect. Most studies of the continued influence effect have employed misinformation that explicitly states the likely cause of an outcome (e.g., the suspect responsible for a crime is explicitly identified; Ecker, Lewandowsky, & Apai, 2011; Ecker, Lewandowsky, & Tang, 2010; Johnson & Seifert, 1994). However, news stories often merely imply that something or someone might be the cause of an adverse outcome. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that implied misinformation would be more difficult to correct than explicit misinformation (i.e., that implied misinformation would lead to greater continued influence). Overall, the results supported this hypothesis. In addition, a novel finding was that many misinformed participants were unwilling to accept the correction as truth.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Kent State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Rich, Patrick Russell

Contributors dc:contributor

• Zaragoza, Maria

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1365510298

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:kent1365510298