Memory Specificity, but Not Perceptual Load, Affects Susceptibility to Misleading Information

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Memory Specificity, but Not Perceptual Load, Affects Susceptibility to Misleading Information Memory specificity, but not perceptual load, affects susceptibility to misleading information Francesca R. Farina1,2,* & Ciara M. Greene1 1School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Ireland. 2Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Note: This paper has not yet been peer-reviewed. Please contact the authors before citing. Correspondence may be sent to Francesca Farina, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Email: [email protected] 1 Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the role of perceptual load in eyewitness memory accuracy and susceptibility to misinformation at immediate and delayed recall. Despite its relevance to real-world situations, previous research in this area is limited. A secondary aim was to establish whether trait-based memory specificity can protect against susceptibility to misinformation. Participants (n=264) viewed a 1-minute video depicting a crime and completed a memory questionnaire immediately afterwards and one week later. Memory specificity was measured via an online version of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). We found a strong misinformation effect, but no effect of perceptual load on memory accuracy or suggestibility at either timepoint. Memory specificity was a significant predictor of accuracy for both neutrally phrased and leading questions, though the effect was weaker after a one-week delay. Results suggest that specific autobiographical memory, but not perceptual load, enhances eyewitness memory and protects against misinformation. Keywords Perceptual load; memory specificity; eyewitness; misinformation. 2 General Audience Summary The misinformation effect is a memory impairment for a past event that occurs when a person is presented with leading information. Leading information can distort the original details of a memory and produce false memories. False memories have serious consequences, particularly in the context of eyewitness testimony. Identifying the conditions under which individuals will be more (or less) vulnerable to misinformation is therefore important. Perceptual load, defined as the perceptual demands imposed by a task, has been suggested as a key factor influencing eyewitness memory. Despite its relevance to real-world situations, previous work in this area is limited. The aim of our study was to examine the role of perceptual load in eyewitness memory accuracy and susceptibility to misinformation at immediate and delayed recall. A secondary aim was to establish whether memory specificity protects against susceptibility to misinformation. Memory specificity refers to the detail with which personally experienced events are remembered. Research has shown that increasing specificity for the event being remembered enhances memory performance and reduces misinformation effects. However, no work has investigated whether a natural ability to recall specific memories also improves memory performance. Participants (n=264) viewed a 1-minute video depicting a crime and completed a memory questionnaire immediately afterwards and one week later. Memory specificity was measured using an online version of the Autobiographical Memory Test. We found a strong effect of leading questions, but no effect of perceptual load on memory accuracy or suggestibility at either timepoint. Memory specificity predicted accuracy for both neutrally phrased and leading questions, although the effect was weaker after a one- week delay. Our results offer preliminary evidence that having a specific memory recall style protects against misinformation. If memory specificity does in fact moderate vulnerability to leading information, it may be possible to reduce misinformation effects through memory specificity training. 3 MEMORY SPECIFICITY, BUT NOT PERCEPTUAL LOAD, AFFECTS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MISLEADING INFORMATION. The misinformation effect is a memory impairment for a past event that occurs when a person is presented with leading information (Loftus, 2005). Many studies have shown that post-event information can distort the original details of a memory and, in some cases, lead to the creation of an entirely false memory (see Loftus, 2005). False memories have serious, real-world consequences, particularly in the context of eyewitness testimony (Lacy & Stark, 2013). Misremembering details of a crime can significantly impact the outcome of a legal trial and has, in the past, led to wrongful convictions (Garrett, 2011). Thus, identifying the conditions under which an individual will be more (or less) vulnerable to misinformation is highly important. One cognitive factor known to influence susceptibility to leading information is the amount of attentional resources available during memory encoding (Frenda, Nichols & Loftus, 2011). Evidence shows that people are more likely to accept misleading information when their attention is restricted, for example, by performing two tasks at once (Lane, 2006; Otgaar, Peters & Howe, 2012; Wright & Livingston-Raper, 2002). Limiting attention in this way is thought to interfere with encoding processes, resulting in less detailed memories. In such cases, an individual will be more likely to rely on external information when reconstructing an event, which may leave them open to suggestion (Hyman, Wulff & Thomas, 2018). Perceptual load, defined as the perceptual demands imposed by a task (Lavie, 2005), has recently been suggested as a key determinant of attentional processing in eyewitness testimony (Murphy & Greene, 2016). Perceptual load theory was originally proposed by Lavie and Tsal (1994) as an explanation for why attentional selection occurs early in some contexts but not in others. Load theory states that when there is a large amount information to take in (high perceptual load), attentional resources will be used up quickly and only the most salient stimuli will be processed. Conversely, when there is less information to process (low perceptual load), attention is unrestricted, allowing all available stimuli to be perceived. Despite being proposed over 20 years ago, few studies have investigated the role of perceptual load in eyewitness memory and susceptibility to misinformation (Greene, Murphy & Januszewski, 2017; Greene & Schachter, 2018; Murphy & Greene, 2016, Experiment 1). In these studies, participants witnessed a video depicting a robbery in which the level of perceptual load was high or low (operationalised as the 4 number of task-irrelevant items in the scene). They then completed a memory questionnaire containing leading or non-leading questions about the event. In one study (Greene & Schachter, 2018), a subset of participants underwent an episodic specificity interview (ESI) before being exposed to misleading information. The ESI was designed to reduce the misinformation effect by eliciting specific memories about the video. Finally, the questionnaire was administered to all participants again after one week to examine the influence of load on delayed recall. Across all three studies, participants in the high load condition exhibited worse memory performance than those in the low load condition (Greene et al., 2017; Greene & Schachter, 2018; Murphy & Greene, 2016). This effect was particularly strong for peripheral details (e.g. identifying a background “witness” character), consistent with the idea that high load narrows attentional focus (Caparos & Linnell, 2010). Results concerning the effect of perceptual load on susceptibility to misinformation were more varied. Murphy and Greene (2016) reported that high load enhanced participants’ suggestibility at immediate recall but not at one-week follow-up, indicating that the effects of perceptual load may be time-dependent. Conversely, Greene and Schacter (2018) found no effect of perceptual load on sensitivity to leading questions at immediate recall. Load did, however, influence memory at one-week follow-up. Specifically, the high-load group were more likely to misidentify a witness than the low-load group when tested again after one week. This effect was reduced for participants who completed the ESI compared to those who completed a control interview, suggesting that detailed recollection of a memory protects against the misinformation effect when perceptual demands are high. Studies to date have yielded mixed results regarding the effects of perceptual load on eyewitness testimony. The aim of the current study was to clarify whether perceptual load influences memory and susceptibility to misinformation at immediate and delayed recall. We hypothesised that high load would impair memory performance and exacerbate the misinformation effect at both timepoints. A secondary aim was to establish whether trait-based memory specificity protects against susceptibility to misinformation. Memory specificity refers to the detail with which personally experienced events are remembered (Williams et al., 2007). The ability to retrieve specific memories is thought to rely on executive control processes that facilitate the maintenance of information in working memory and inhibit irrelevant information (Takano, Moriya & Raes, 2017). Memory 5 specificity has been investigated extensively in various contexts, particularly in relation to the memory deficits typically observed in mood disorders such as depression (see Williams et al., 2007, for a review). However, no research has been conducted to determine whether memory specificity improves eyewitness memory accuracy and reduces suggestibility. Greene and Schacter (2018) showed that
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