Based on Loftus's 1978 study, subjects viewed a slide presentation of an accident, and some of the subjects were asked a question about a blue car when the actual slides contained pictures of a green car. When these same subjects were asked about the color of the car at the accident, they were found to be confused. This is an example of the
A) instant replay effect.
B) constructive processing effect.
C) levels-of-processing effect.
D) misinformation effect.
E) hindsight bias.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Loftus's study demonstrates the misinformation effect, which occurs when misleading information is presented after an event and affects an individual's memory of that event. In this case, the question about the blue car introduced misinformation that contradicted the actual information presented in the slides, leading to confusion and potentially altering the participants' memory of the event.

Based on Loftus's 1978 Study, Subjects Viewed a Slide Presentation