Which term is used to refer to the alterations in memory due to misleading information?

The term that refers to alterations in memory caused by misleading information is the misinformation effect. This phenomenon occurs when people’s memories of an event are altered after being exposed to incorrect or misleading information regarding that event. Research has shown that when individuals witness an event and then receive misleading information about it, their recollection of the original event can be significantly distorted.

For example, if individuals watch a video of a car accident and later read a news article that contains inaccuracies about what occurred, those inaccuracies can influence how they remember the details of the event. The misinformation effect highlights the malleability of human memory and underscores how susceptible it can be to external influences.

While the false memory effect involves recalling events that did not happen, source misattribution deals with confusion over the origins of a memory. Memory reconstruction refers to the process of piecing together memories, which may or may not be affected by misleading information. Thus, the misinformation effect specifically addresses the alterations in memory directly resulting from exposure to misleading details.