Pluto behaving badly: False beliefs and their consequences

We exposed college students to suggestive materials in order to lead them to believe that, as children, they had a negative experience at Disneyland involving the Pluto character. A sizable minority of subjects developed a false belief or memory that Pluto had uncomfortably licked their ear. Suggest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychology 2008-12, Vol.121 (4), p.11
Main Authors: Berkowitz, Shari R, Laney, Cara, Morris, Erin K, Garry, Maryanne, Loftus, Elizabeth F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Belief & doubt
College students
Memory
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We exposed college students to suggestive materials in order to lead them to believe that, as children, they had a negative experience at Disneyland involving the Pluto character. A sizable minority of subjects developed a false belief or memory that Pluto had uncomfortably licked their ear. Suggestions about a positive experience with Pluto led to even greater acceptance of a lovable earlicking episode. False beliefs and memories had repercussions; those seduced by the bad suggestions were not willing to pay as much for a Pluto souvenir. These findings are among the first to demonstrate that false beliefs can have repercussions for people, meaning that they can influence their later thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0002-9556
1939-8298