ABSTRACT The memory misinformation effect in the context of stereotypes about refugees from Syria and Ukraine was explored. After watching a film clip, participants were exposed to postevent material implying that the crime was committed by Ukrainians, Syrians, or an unspecified perpetrator. This material also included misleading details about the film clip. In Experiment 1, activating a stereotype of a distant culture (Syrians) resulted in higher vulnerability to misinformation compared to a situation in which no stereotype was activated. In Experiment 2, empathy activation did not reduce the impact of stereotypes about a distant culture on yielding to misinformation. In Experiment 3, providing knowledge about refugees reduced the misinformation effect. In Experiment 4, warning about misinformation reduced yielding to misinformation under certain conditions. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms of the misinformation effect in the context of stereotypes about refugees, and regarding the practical implications of the results.
Szpitalak et al. (Thu,) studied this question.