Abstract
Previous studies have shown that source identification (ID) tests reduce, and in some cases eliminate, eyewitness suggestibility errors. The present study showed that the suggestibility errors participants committed on a source ID test were further reduced when they were given the explicit postwarning that the experimenter was trying to trick them. These postwarnings reduced suggestibility to the same extent as prewarnings, and they did so for both once and repeatedly suggested items. In addition, the benefits of the pre- and postwarnings persisted when participants were retested 1 week later, but only if the suggestions had been repeated. For once-suggested items, the warning had the unintended effect of improving old/new recognition of the suggested information at retest, an effect that offset the improvements in source discrimination accuracy conferred by the warning. The advantages of using source ID tests for investigating group differences in eyewitness suggestibility are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Ackil, J. K., &Zaragoza, M. S. (1995). Developmental differences in eyewitness suggestibility and memory for source.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,60, 57–83.
Ackil, J. K., &Zaragoza, M. S. (1998). Memorial consequences of forced confabulation: Age differences in susceptibility to false memories.Developmental Psychology,34, 1358–1372.
Belli, R. F., Lindsay, D. S., Gales, M. S., &McCarthy, T. T. (1994). Memory impairment and source misattribution in postevent misinformation experiments with short retention intervals.Memory & Cognition,22, 40–54.
Ceci, S. J. (1995). False beliefs: Some developmental and clinical considerations. In D. L. Schacter (Ed.),Memory distortion: How minds, brains, and societies reconstruct the past (pp. 91–128). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Christiaansen, R. E., &Ochalek, K. (1983). Editing misleading information from memory: Evidence for the coexistence of original and postevent information.Memory & Cognition,11, 467–475.
Dodd, D. H., &Bradshaw, J. M. (1980). Leading questions and memory: Pragmatic constraints.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,19, 695–704.
Dodson, C., &Johnson, M. K. (1993). Rate of false source attributions depends on how questions are asked.American Journal of Psychology,106, 541–558.
Greene, E., Flynn, M. B., &Loftus, E. F. (1982). Inducing resistance to misleading information.Journal of Learning & Verbal Behavior,21, 207–219.
Hasher, L., Attig, M. S., &Alba, J. W. (1981). I knew it all along— or did I?Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,20, 86–96.
Jacoby, L. L. (1999). Ironic effects of repetition: Measuring age-related differences in memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,25, 3–22.
Jacoby, L. L., Kelley, C. M., Brown, J., &Jasechko, J. (1989). Becoming famous overnight: Limits on the ability to avoid unconscious influences of the past.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology,56, 326–338.
Jacoby, L. L., Kelley, C. M., &Dywan, J. (1989). Memory attributions. In H. L. Roediger & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.),Varieties of memory and consciousness: Essays in honour of Endel Tulving (pp. 391–422). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Johnson, M. K., Hashtroudi, S., &Lindsay, D. S. (1993). Source monitoring.Psychological Bulletin,114, 3–28.
Johnson, M. K., &Raye, C. (1998). False memories and confabulation.Trends in Cognitive Sciences,2, 137–145.
Lindsay, D. S. (1990). Misleading suggestions can impair eyewitness’ ability to remember event details.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,16, 1077–1083.
Lindsay, D. S. (1994). Memory source monitoring and eyewitness testimony. In D. F. Ross, J. D. Read, & M. P. Toglia (Eds.),Adult eyewitness testimony: Current trends and developments (pp. 27–55). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lindsay, D. S., &Johnson, M. K. (1989). The eyewitness suggestibility effect and memory for source.Memory & Cognition,17, 349–358.
Loftus, E. F., Miller, D. G., &Burns, H. J. (1978). Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,4, 19–31.
Marsh, R. L., &Hicks, J. L. (1998). Test formats change sourcemonitoring decision processes.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,24, 1137–1152.
Mitchell, K. J., &Zaragoza, M. S. (1996). Repeated exposure to suggestion and false memory: The role of contextual variability.Journal of Memory & Language,35, 246–260.
Mitchell, K. J., &Zaragoza, M. S. (2001). Contextual overlap and eyewitness suggestibility.Memory & Cognition,29, 616–626.
Multhaup, K. S. (1995). Aging, source, and decision criteria: When false fame errors do and do not occur.Psychology & Aging,10, 492–498.
Multhaup, K. S., de Leonardis, D. M., &Johnson, M. K. (1999). Source memory and eyewitness suggestibility in older adults.Journal of General Psychology,126, 74–84.
Poole, D. A., &Lindsay, D. S. (1995). Interviewing preschoolers: Effects of nonsuggestive techniques, parental coaching, and leading questions on reports of nonexperienced events.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,60, 129–154.
Pratkanis, A.R., Greenwald, A.G., Leippe, M.R., &Baumgardner, M.H. (1988). In search of the sleeper reliable persuasion effects: III. The sleeper effect is dead. Long live the sleeper effect.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology,54, 203–218.
Roediger, H. L., III (1996). Memory illusions.Journal of Memory & Language,35, 76–100.
Schacter, D. L. (1999). The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience.American Psychologist,54, 182–203.
Schacter, D. L., Harbluk, J., &McLachlan, D. (1984). Retrieval without recollection: An experimental analysis of source amnesia.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,23, 593–611.
Schacter, D. L., Norman, K. A., &Koutstaal, W. (1998). The cognitive neuroscience of constructive memory.Annual Review of Psychology,49, 289–319.
Smith, V. L., &Ellsworth, P. C. (1987). The social psychology of eyewitness accuracy: Misleading questions and communicator expertise.Journal of Applied Psychology,72, 294–300.
Underwood, J., &Pezdek, K. (1998). Memory suggestibility as an example of the sleeper effect.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,5, 449–453.
Wegner, D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control.Psychological Review,101, 34–52.
Wilson, T. D., &Brekke, N. (1994). Mental contamination and mental correction: Unwanted influences on judgments and evaluations.Psychological Bulletin,116, 117–142.
Wright, D. B. (1993). Misinformation and warnings in eyewitness testimony: A new testing procedure to differentiate explanations.Memory,1, 153–166.
Zaragoza, M. S., &Lane, S. M. (1994). Source misattributions and the suggestibility of eyewitness memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,20, 934–945.
Zaragoza, M. S., Lane, S. M., Ackil, J. K., &Chambers K. L. (1997). Confusing real and suggested memories: Source monitoring and eyewitness suggestibility. In N. L. Stein, P. A. Ornsein, B. Tversky, & C. Brainerd (Eds.),Memory for everyday and emotional events (pp. 401–425). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Zaragoza, M. S., &Mitchell, K. J. (1996). Repeated exposure to suggestions and the creation of false memories.Psychological Science,7, 294–300.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
This project was done to fulfill, in part, the requirements for the doctoral degree of K.L.C.
Preparation of this article was supported in part by NSF Grant SES-9819303 to M.S.Z.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chambers, K.L., Zaragoza, M.S. Intended and unintended effects of explicit warnings on eyewitness suggestibility: Evidence from source identification tests. Memory & Cognition 29, 1120–1129 (2001). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206381
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206381