Discrepancy detection in the retrieval-enhanced suggestibility paradigm

Abstract

Retrieval-enhanced suggestibility (RES) refers to the finding that immediately recalling the details of a witnessed event can increase susceptibility to later misinformation. In three experiments, we sought to gain a deeper understanding of the role that retrieval plays in the RES paradigm. Consistent with past research, initial testing did increase susceptibility to misinformation - but only for those who failed to detect discrepancies between the original event and the post-event misinformation. In all three experiments, subjects who retrospectively detected discrepancies in the post-event narratives were more resistant to misinformation than those who did not. In Experiments 2 and 3, having subjects concurrently assess the consistency of the misinformation narratives negated the RES effect. Interestingly, in Experiments 2 and 3, subjects who had retrieval practice and detected discrepancies were more likely to endorse misinformation than control subjects who detected discrepancies. These results call attention to limiting conditions of the RES effect and highlight the complex relationship between retrieval practice, discrepancy detection, and misinformation endorsement.

How prior testing impacts misinformation processing: A dual-task approach

“…This design gave us a novel way to examine the availability of spare resources after interim testing. Consistent with prior RES studies (Butler & Loftus, 2018;Chan et al, 2009;Gordon et al, 2015;LaPaglia, Wilford, Rivard, Chan, & Fisher, 2014), participants who took an interim test were less likely to report accurate video details, and when they were wrong, more likely to report suggested narrative details on the final memory test compared to participants who did not take an interim test. However, placement of the probe in the context of the narrative affected these memory findings.…”

Immediate interviewing increases children's suggestibility in the short term, but not in the long term

“…Further, the initial interview may enhance learning of the post‐event information by making encoding more selective (Carpenter & Toftness, ; Davis & Chan, ). In the context of RES, the children who have received the initial interview may be more likely to detect conflicts between their recollection and the post‐event information, thereby enhancing their learning towards the misinformation (Butler & Loftus, ; Gordon & Thomas, ). Our finding that the adapted NICHD protocol was positively related to misinformation reporting is consistent with this interpretation.…”

“…The retrieval-enhanced suggestibility effect has been replicated under a variety of circumstances. For example, it has been demonstrated using various stimuli (Butler & Loftus, 2017;Chan, Wilford, & Hughes, 2012), in children (Brackmann, Otgaar, Sauerland, & Howe, 2016), younger and older adults (Chan et al, 2009), with repeated tests (Chan & LaPaglia, 2011), and in free and cued recall initial tests (Wilford, Chan, & Tuhn, 2014). A proposed explanation for retrieval-enhanced suggestibility is that the initial test inadvertently enhanced learning of the misinformation (Chan, Manley, & Lang, 2017;Thomas et al, 2010).…”

Protecting Against Misinformation: Examining the Effect of Empirically Based Investigative Interviewing on Misinformation Reporting

“…Follow-up research has replicated the retrieval-enhanced suggestibility phenomenon. For example, this effect has been demonstrated using various types of stimuli (Butler and Loftus 2017;Chan et al 2012), in different populations (e.g., children: Brackmann et al 2016;adults: Chan et al 2009), using various retrieval procedures (e.g., repeated testing: Chan and LaPaglia 2011), and different memory tests (i.e., free versus cued recall testing; Wilford et al 2014). Apart from these replications, retrieval-enhanced suggestibility also has some boundary conditions.…”