In Loftus's 1978 study, participants viewed a slide presentation of an accident. Later, some of the participants were asked a question about a yield sign when the actual slides contained pictures of a stop sign. When presented with this inaccurate information, how did these participants typically respond?
A) Many participants' overall accuracy dropped when confronted with conflicting information.
B) Most corrected Loftus and recalled seeing a stop sign.
C) Many began seeing both a stop sign and a yield sign.
D) Participants were confused, but only briefly, at which point their accuracy of recalling the event returned.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In Loftus's 1978 study, participants' overall accuracy dropped when confronted with conflicting information. They were more likely to incorporate the misleading information into their memory of the event, rather than correcting it. This phenomenon is called the misinformation effect.

In Loftus's 1978 Study, Participants Viewed a Slide Presentation of an Accident