Effect of Peer Misinformation Through Video Varies by Age and Gender

1. Effect of Peer Misinformation Through Video Varies by Age and Gender Lisa Shanty, Melinda Hines, Ellyn Sheffield, Kayla Carter, and Kerri Goodwin Results Introduction Conclusion Research on suggestibility has shown that children more readily incorporate misinformation into their event representations and consequently are less reliable eyewitnesses than adults (Ceci & Bruck, 1993). Research has also shown that school-aged children incorporate misinformation after they have engaged in peer-to-peer conversations (Candel, et.al., 2007). However, limited research has been conducted with preschool-aged children to show how they maybe affected by hearing misinformation from a peer. These findings suggest that four-year-olds were not negatively affected by watching a peer discuss misinformation over a video, but five-year-olds were. Younger children may be less inclined to conform to social influence, but by the age of five, children are demonstrating willingness to listen to and incorporate misinformation from their peers. This differs with past research indicating that people become more resistant to misinformation as they get older (Ceci& Bruck, 1993). Prior research has been generally inconclusive regarding gender differences in susceptibility to misinformation, but in this study, boys appeared to be more suggestible. This conflicts with prior research that suggests boys are more externalizing and girls are more internalizing , making girls more likely to be influenced by misinformation (McFarlane et.al., 2002). This study is one of the first to investigate the use of videos as a means of introducing misinformation. It has significant implications for the role of source monitoring errors and media contamination of young children’s memory of a witnessed event. A factorial ANOVA of gender, age, and condition was conducted on the proportion of correct responses at immediate retention and final retention. A significant interaction was found between time and question type, F (1,90)= 4.931. On the consistent questions, all children performed slightly better on retention test two. On the misleading questions, children perform worse overall. A significant triple interaction was found among time, condition, and age, F (1,90)= 8.171. The four-year-olds performed better on the second retention test in the video condition, while the five year olds performed worse in the video condition. (see chart below) Importantly, a triple interaction was found among question type, age, and gender, F (1,90)= 5.731. The five-year-old boys showed the greatest decline in correct answers on misleading questions. (see chart below) Participants 43 boys and 55 girls, ages four and five, were recruited from local preschools to participate in a study that included watching a puppet show, thereafter seeing a video, and being tested to see if the video information misinformed them. Methods Children in the experimental condition were presented with one of two versions of a puppet show, in which the characters go to a store to purchase toys, see a friend at the store, and return home to play and see their dog. An immediate retention test was administered. Three days later, children watched a video of a peer presenting facts about the puppet showthat differed on key details. Children in a control condition did not view this video. One week following the initial visit, children were given a retention test.