ABSTRACT Misinformation can continue to influence reasoning even after it has been corrected. The present study examined whether misinformation reliance following correction is mediated by prior knowledge and attitudes toward the topic of misinformation. Participants ( n = 215) completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge and attitudes regarding genetically modified (GM) food before reading statements on this topic, one of which contained misinformation. For half of the participants, the misinformation was later corrected. Participants then generated inferences based on the statements. The correction reduced, but did not eliminate, references to the misinformation. Positive attitudes toward GM food were associated with fewer misinformation‐based references but did not mediate the correction effect. Knowledge did not influence misinformation processing or correction efficacy. Crucially, correction effectiveness was independent of participants' belief in the correction. This supports Bayesian belief‐updating accounts of the misinformation persistence following correction; it reflects conservative updating under uncertainty rather than a failure of memory revision.
Scholz et al. (Fri,) studied this question.