Examining False Memories for Visually or Auditorily Presented Post-Event Information

Abstract

Post-event experiences, such as exposure to newly presented information after a witnessed event, affect memory for the original event. The misinformation effect occurs when subjects viewed an event are then exposed to misleading information about critical details in that event, and finally took a recognition test about the witnessed event. The present study aims to examine the effect of visual and auditory modalities on false memories using the misinformation method. The study hypothesizes that the recognition test performance for misinformation items will be worse when the post-event information is presented auditorily, compared to when it is presented visually. Before the misinformation task, a total of 24 volunteer university students aged 18-25 were administered the Beck Depression Inventory, the Stroop Task, the WMS-R Digit Span, the WMS-R Logical Memory, and the Benton Visual Retention Test. Then, all subjects watched a silent video of a simulated robbery. After watching the video, the subjects were randomly assigned to the groups of visual or auditory modalities. Half of the subjects viewed photographs while the other half listened to a narrative as post-event information. Both the photographs and the narrative included eleven control information and four misinformation items. Finally, subjects completed a recognition test by hearing the test items and responding verbally to each question. The results of the 2 (types of information: control and misinformation) x 2 (modality: visual and auditory) mixed ANOVA indicated that the main effect of information type was significant while the main effect of the modality was not significant. There was no significant interaction effect between information type and modality. The findings revealed that participants showed higher memory accuracy for control items than for misinformation items. The types of information presented after witnessing an event seem to be important, regardless of the modality through which it is presented.