Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory.

A total of 1,242 subjects, in five experiments plus a pilot study, saw a series of slides depicting a single auto-pedestrian accident. The purpose of these experiments was to investigate how information supplied after an event influences a witnesss memory for that event. Subjects were exposed to either consistent, misleading, or irrelevant information after the accident event. Misleading information produced less accurate responding on both a yes-no and a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test. Further, misleading information had a larger impact if introduced just prior to a final test rather than immediately after the initial event. The effects of misleading information cannot be accounted for by a simple demand-characteristics explanation. Overall, the results suggest that information to which a witness is exposed after an event, whether that information is consistent or misleading, is integrated into the witnesss memory of the event. Almost two centuries ago, Immanuel Kant (1781/1887) spoke of the human tendency to merge different experiences to form new concepts and ideas. That tendency has crucial implications for ones ability to report his or her experiences accurately. When one has witnessed an important event, such as a crime or an accident, one is occasionally exposed to subsequent information that can influence the memory of that event. This occurs even when the initial event is largely visual and the additional information is verbal in nature (Loftus, 1975; Pezdek, 1977). For instance, in a previous study, subjects saw films of complex fast-moving events such This research was supported by grants to the