Older adults were not found to be any more influenced by socially encountered misinformation than younger adults. However, older adults did demonstrate a general improvement in their memory of an event when given the opportunity to discuss it with another person.

Pepperdine University

University of California, Davis

Individuals were found to be more susceptible to misremembering an event when they encountered misleading post-event information from a social source than when they encountered misleading post-event information from a non-social source. 

Socially vs. Non-Socially Encountered Misinformation

Gabbert, F., Memon, A., Allan, K., & Wright, D.B. (2004/2010). Say it to my face: Examining the effects of socially encountered misinformation. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 9(2), 215–227. https://doi.org/10.1348/1355325041719428

Say it to my face: Examining the effects of socially encountered misinformation

Age differences in susceptibility to socially encountered misinformation

Eye-witness testimonies are likely to be flawed or unreliable if the witness is exposed to an inaccurate account of the crime, particularly if this account comes from another person in a social context. While discussing the crime with co-witnesses may help to improve one’s overall memory of the event, inaccurate information encountered during such an interaction is likely to lead to memory distortions.

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