Did You See What He Saw? A Comparison of Text-based and Audio Information on Memory

Abstract

Research has shown that the introduction of misinformation can alter what people remember about witnessed events. Further to this, when misinformation is socially introduced in text-based format or through verbal discussion memory accuracy for the witnessed events suffers. The present study assessed misinformation and memory accuracy across text-based and auditory mediums. Participants (N = 94) were shown a video. Following a distractor task, participants were randomly selected to be presented with misinformation (incongruent) or accurate information (congruent) about the video. This message was said to be another person’s account of events and was presented in either text or auditory format. Findings indicated that, regardless of which message participants received, those in the text-based condition were more accurate when asked about the event. While previous research shows that exposure to congruent or incongruent information during a discussion alters what individuals will later remember, the present study suggests that non-conversational listening does not have the same effect. Actively engaging with information via reading may force individuals to attend to the message and thereby be more accurate in their judgements. Future research must further untangle how reading and hearing event details impacts witness accuracy.