2022/04/01 by Alyssa L. Miller, Kathryn T. Wissman, Daniel J. Peterson
Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Memory Processes and Influences #Misinformation and Its Impacts #Psychological and Educational Research Studies
paper · doi:10.1002/acp.3939
openalex publication_date 2022/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Research suggests exposure to misinformation continues to impact belief and reasoning, even if that misinformation has been corrected (referred to as the Continued Influence Effect, CIE ). The present experiment explores two potentially important factors that may impact the effect: (1) learner age and (2) length of delay between retraction and final test. During initial learning, participants (both young and older adults) read six scenarios in which a critical piece of misinformation was either retracted or not retracted. Following no delay, a short (10 min) delay, or a long (2 days) delay, participants then answered inferential reasoning questions about the previously studied scenarios to evaluate how (if at all) the prior retraction impacts reliance on misinformation. Outcomes help us to understand the ways in which misinformation (even following retraction) impacts reasoning, an issue of exceeding importance as the proliferation of fake news shows no signs of slowing.