Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory
Loftus, Miller and Burns, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory 4(1), 1978, 19-31. Five experiments plus a pilot, 1,242 participants, slides of one auto-pedestrian accident; consistent, misleading or irrelevant information given afterwards. Misleading information lowered accuracy on yes-no and two-alternative recognition tests and had a larger effect when introduced just before the final test. Demand characteristics did not account for it. Authors conclude post-event information, consistent or misleading, is integrated into the memory of the event.
Loftus, Miller and Burns, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory 4(1), 1978, 19-31. Five experiments plus a pilot, 1,242 participants, slides of one auto-pedestrian accident; consistent, misleading or irrelevant information given afterwards. Misleading information lowered accuracy on yes-no and two-alternative recognition tests and had a larger effect when introduced just before the final test. Demand characteristics did not account for it. Authors conclude post-event information, consistent or misleading, is integrated into the memory of the event.
Written from the abstract via OpenAlex, 2026-11-12.
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Loftus, E. F., Miller, D. G., & Burns, H. J. (1978). Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(1), 19-31. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.4.1.19 https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.4.1.19