Eyewitness Memory in Journalistic Context: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Study Post-Event Misinformation Effects

ABSTRACT

The malleability of memory has been a long-standing concern of memory scientists. Scholars have specifically warned about the dangers of misleading post-event information, because such erroneous messages could lead to reconstruction of eyewitness memory. Whereas much research on false post-event information is focused on eyewitness testimony in police investigations, the role of news media in influencing eyewitness memory has not been fully explored. Almost no eyewitness misinformation research has been placed in journalistic contexts, whereas journalists have two paths to induce false memories: they can influence eyewitness memory by asking misleading questions and by publishing false eyewitness accounts. This manuscript is intended as a call to action for interdisciplinary approaches in studying journalistic routines that may influence eyewitness memory.

KEYWORDS:

• Post-event information
• interviewing
• misleading questions
• eyewitness memory
• misinformation
• wrongful conviction

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).