AUTHOR=Kękuś Magdalena , Szpitalak Malwina , Polczyk Romuald , Barzykowski Krystian 

TITLE=Online misinformation can distort witnesses’ memories. Analysis of co-witness discussions using an online version of the MORI-v technique

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1239139

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1239139

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=The memory conformity effect occurs when people witness a given incident, then talk to each other about it, and the statement of one person affects the memory account of another person with respect to that incident. The main objectives of this experiment were (1) to examine the effectiveness of a modified version of the MORI-v technique in inducing the memory conformity effect; (2) to investigate how the manner in which participants discuss the observed event influences the magnitude of this effect.In general, the modified online MORI-v technique consists of the following main elements:(1) original material, i.e., two versions of a short film which are identical except for certain critical details, e.g., in one version a thief puts on a red cap, but in the other version it is black;(2) the collaborative recognition test, i.e., a discussion about the original material which leads to mutual misinformation; (3) an individual recognition test that checks the effect of the discussion on the memory account of the original material.Seventy-two participants (36 pairs) aged 18-54 took part in the research. Participants were tested using the online MORI-v technique: they were familiarized with the original material on their computers at home, then they talked about it via a video communication app and completed an individual recognition test on their computers. Importantly, the discussions were recorded and analyzed in detail after the experimental session.Using the online MORI-v technique, the effect of memory conformity was demonstrated, i.e., in the individual recognition test, the proportion of correct answers to questions about discussed details (related to misinformation) was lower than the proportion of correct answers to questions about non-discussed details.It was also demonstrated that if one participant introduced misinformation during the discussion about a particular item and the other did not question it, the latter's answer to that item during the individual recognition test was most often incorrect. However, if one participant introduced misinformation during the discussion about an item and the other did question it, the latter's answer about that item during the individual recognition test was most often correct.