- Participants who underwent both forms of RSA (MemIndRSA) had higher memory confidence than the IndRSA and noRSA groups. 
- MemRSA and MemIndRSA reduced misinformation susceptibility by similar amounts
- Combining independence and memory protocols was more effective than independence alone

Interactions Between MemRSA and IndRSA

- People who underwent MemRSA ranked their memory confidence has higher than those who have not done MemRSA
- MemRSA participants were less susceptible to the misinformation effect (did not rely on external sources for information)

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

If affirmations are linked to one's memory, perceptual abilities, or independent thinking, it should increase their reliance on their own memory. Someone who undergoes RSA should favor their own account of the event, rather than the false details. In addition, hearing positive feedback has been shown to increase motivation, improving task performance. 

Why RSA Reduces Misinformation Susceptibility 

An RSA protocol aimed at increasing one's confidence in their memory. Ex: Asking subjects to memorize as many words as possible from a collection. Telling them they scored above average on their memory. 

Memory Reinforced Self-Affirmation

Szpitalak, M. & Polczyk, R. (2019). Inducing resistance to the misinformation
effect by means of reinforced self-affirmation: The importance of positive feedback. PLoS ONE 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210987

Inducing resistance to the misinformation
effect by means of reinforced self-affirmation: The importance of positive feedback

MemRSA and the Misinformation Effect

- IndRSA did not increase memory confidence significantly
- But, IndRSA did lead to less endorsement of misinformation

IndRSA and the Misinformation Effect

- Those who underwent PerRSA protocols ranked their memory confidence a significant amount higher than the noRSA group. 
- They also ranked their perceptual confidence much higher than the MemRSA and noRSA groups. 
- The PerRSA group was less susceptible to misinformation, so they were more likely to rely on their own perceptions of an event, as opposed to outside information.

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