Caveat Emptor! False Advertising and Memory

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Caveat Emptor!False Advertising and Memory

• Melissa J. Grinley
• University of Washington

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Acknowledgements

• Elizabeth F. Loftus and Jacquie Pickrell
• Susan Joslyn, Ayanna Thomas, Margaret Marshall
• My wonderful research assistants Shawn Chen,
  Serena Lin, Elizabeth Stewart, Nadya Zawaideh,
  and Lisa Page
• Donna Golshan

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Previous Research

• Braun, Ellis Loftus (2002)
• Bugs Bunny at a Disney resort

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Braun et al. Met Bugs
M 2.7
M 2.2
Confidence
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Goals of Present Experiment

• Boost the false memory effect with multiple
  exposures to false advertising
• Learn more about quality of false memories-
• How much detail is remembered?

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Study Design
BUGS AD
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Bugs Bunny Ad
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Study Design
BUGS AD
CONTROL AD
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Control Ad
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Study Design
BUGS AD
CONTROL AD
BUGS AD STORIES
CONTROL AD STORIES
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Ad Stories Example

• Remember when you were a kid and Disneyland was
  the happiest place on earth?.Disney characters
  such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and Goofy
  greeting you at the gates.

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Procedure
n 101
n 98
BUGS AD
CONTROL AD
BUGS AD STORIES
CONTROL AD STORIES

• MET BUGS?
• Yes/No Judgement
• Confidence (1-8)

SPECIFIC MEMORIES
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Specific Memories Bugs Bunny

• Did you shake his hand? Y N DK
• Did you hug him? Y N DK
• Was he holding a carrot? Y N DK
• Did he say Whats up Doc? Y N DK
• Did you touch his tail? Y N DK
• Did you touch his ears? Y N DK

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Results

• 101 participants in experimental group, 98 in
  control group
• 5 Bugs Detectors removed from experimental
  group, final count n 96
• Data were analyzed for
• Met Bugs (Y/N)?
• Confidence met Bugs (1-8)?
• Specific Memories

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Percentage of Participants who Said They Met Bugs
at a Disney Resort
?2 (1, N 85) 9.36, p .002
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Mean Confidence Ratings for Meeting Bugs at Disney
t(87) 3.15, p .002
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Percentage of Participants who indicated Specific
Memories of Bugs Bunny (N 13)

• Measure Yes No DK
• Shake his hand? 628 233 152
• Hug him? 466 466 81
• Touch his ears? 233 547 233
• Touch his tail? 233 466 314
• Whats up Doc? 233 314 466
• Holding a carrot? 81 152 7710

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To summarize, the viewing of false Bugs Bunny ad
suggests

• Greater likelihood of Ss saying they
  had met Bugs at a Disney resort
• Increased confidence that they had met Bugs Bunny
• For some, formation of specific memories of
  details of their experience

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Implications

• Advertising enhances perceived validity (Law
  Hawkins, 1997)
• Ads that evoke nostalgia may alter true memories
  or even create false ones

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Subjects responses to the question Do you think
you remembered things differently because of the
advertising?

• I dont know if I met any characters, but
  reading about meeting them makes me think I did.
• I have more memories of my trip when I was young
  now, dont know if they're real.
• I remember characters which I don't usually
  remember meeting when I went to Disneyland.

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Thats all, folks!