A few people witness an assault. Before the police arrive, one witness confidently tells the others that the assailant was wearing a green shirt, though in fact the shirt was blue. Later, when the police interview each witness individually, almost all of them state that they remember a green shirt. The memory error is referred to as
A few people witness an assault. before the police arrive, one witness confidently tells the others that the assailant was wearing a green shirt, though in fact the shirt was blue. Later, when the police interview each witness individually, almost all of them state that they remember a green shirt. The memory error is referred to as
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the misinformation effect
The memory error you are referring to is called the misinformation effect or the memory conformity effect.
The misinformation effect occurs when a person’s recall of an event is altered or distorted after being exposed to misleading or inaccurate information about that event. In this case, when the first witness confidently stated that the assailant was wearing a green shirt (even though it was actually blue), it influenced the memory and recollection of the other witnesses.
Even though the other witnesses initially saw the blue shirt, the misinformation provided by the first witness caused them to incorporate that incorrect detail into their own memories. As a result, when interviewed by the police later, almost all the witnesses reported seeing a green shirt, conforming to the misinformation they had received earlier.
This phenomenon demonstrates how memories can be influenced and distorted by external misinformation, especially when it comes from a confident source or when there is a social pressure to conform to a particular account of events.
The misinformation effect has important implications in various contexts, such as eyewitness testimony, news reporting, and the spread of misinformation in social media, among others.