After Hearing a Television Report Falsely Indicating That Drugs May

question 43

Multiple Choice

After hearing a television report falsely indicating that drugs may have contributed to a recent auto accident, several eyewitnesses of the accident began to remember the driver as traveling at a faster rate of speed than was actually the case. This provides an example of

• A) flashbulb memory.
• B) state-dependent memory.
• C) the serial position effect.
• D) the misinformation effect.

---

Definitions:

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging others' behaviors.

Self-Serving Bias

The common tendency to attribute one’s successes to personal characteristics and failures to external factors.

Shock Machine

Often associated with psychological experiments, it refers to a device used to deliver an electric shock to a subject, typically used in studies on obedience, learning, and punishment.

Stanley Milgram

A psychologist best known for his research on obedience to authority, which revealed how people are willing to follow orders even when it results in harming others.