SEMANTIC INTEGRATION OF VERBAL INFORMATION INTO A VISUAL MEMORY

In 5 experiments and a pilot study, a total of 1,232 undergraduates watched a series of slides depicting a single auto-pedestrian accident. The purpose of these experiments was to investigate how information supplied after an event influences a witness's memory for that event. Ss were exposed to either consistent, misleading, or irrelevant information after the accident event. Results show that misleading information produced less accurate responding on both a yes-no and a 2-alternative forced-choice recognition test. Further, misleading information had a larger impact if introduced just prior to a final test rather than immediately after the initial event. The effects of misleading information cannot be accounted for by a simple demand-characteristics explanation. Overall results suggest that information to which a witness is exposed after an event, whether that information is consistent or misleading, is integrated into the witness's memory of the event. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1978 American Psychological Association.