Misinformation Effect

Distortion of memory by information encountered after an event, central to Elizabeth Loftus's eyewitness research.

Specifications & Metrics

In Loftus and Palmer's 1974 study, the verb smashed versus hit raised speed estimates from about 34 to 41 miles per hour.
A week later, participants who had heard smashed were more likely to recall nonexistent broken glass.
The findings reshaped eyewitness procedures and Loftus's testimony has figured in hundreds of trials.