Misinformation Effect
The misinformation effect occurs when misleading information received after an event affects how someone later remembers or reports it.
Established ConceptWhat does it mean in everyday language?
What you hear after an event can change what you later say you remember.
An example
After watching a video, a viewer reads a description that mentions a detail the video did not contain. The viewer later reports seeing that detail.
A more precise definition
The misinformation effect is the observed influence of misleading post-event information on later memory reports about an event.
Key features
- Post-event information
- Measurable change in later reports
- Studied experimentally
Where the definition stops
It is not the same as all false information and does not require synthetic media.
How it relates to synthetic imprinting
Researchers can use this established effect to ask whether generated media changes later memory reports, and whether the format makes a difference.
Research context
A long-standing topic in cognitive psychology with many experimental paradigms and ongoing debates about mechanisms and boundary conditions.
Related terms
- False Memory Established Concept
- Source-Monitoring Error Established Concept
- Synthetic Imprinting Proposed Term
- Misinformation Established Concept
- Reconstructive Memory Established Concept
Sources and further reading
- Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An Example of the Interaction Between Language and Memory — Elizabeth F. Loftus, John C. Palmer (1974). Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13(5), 585–589.
- Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing — Stephan Lewandowsky, Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Colleen M. Seifert, Norbert Schwarz, John Cook (2012). Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 13(3), 106–131.
Cite this definition
APA: SyntheticImprinting.com. (2026). Misinformation Effect. https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/misinformation-effect/
MLA: “Misinformation Effect.” SyntheticImprinting.com, 2026, https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/misinformation-effect/. Accessed September 26, 2026.
Chicago: SyntheticImprinting.com. “Misinformation Effect.” Last modified 2026-09-24. https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/misinformation-effect/.
What the status means
A concept used in academic or professional literature. This label does not mean every claim about it is settled.
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