Braun, K.A. & Loftus, E.F. (1998)
Advertising's misinformation effect.
Applied Cognitive Psychology,
12, 569-591

Elizabeth F. Loftus
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98195 USA

Advertising's Misinformation Effect

Kathryn A. Braun and Elizabeth F. Loftus


Summary

This research explores whether post-experience advertising alters information learned in a consumer's direct experience. An advertising misinformation effect was obtained for color memory of a previously seen candy bar wrapper upon both visual and verbal misinformation. However, the misleading visual information produced more "remember" judgements than misleading verbal information. This advertising misinformation effect did not dissipate when the source was discredited. We found that such memory changes can be directly linked to consumer subjective judgments and choices when the misleading information is particularly salient. Not only do these findings constitute a novel generalizability of the misinformation effect, they also have implications for social policy research on deceptive advertising.

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