The application seeks support for training in social cognition and aging at the University of Michigan under the direction of Drs. Norbert Schwartz and Denis Park. A series of experiments are proposed to examine age-related differences in the """"""""illusion of truth"""""""" effect for medical information. This effect occurs when information that seems familiar is thought of as true solely on the grounds that it has been encountered before, and even when the information was originally identified as false. Because of older adults' increased consumption of medical services, the illusion effect for medical information could have dangerous consequences. The effect seems to occur when people cannot explicitly remember the truth value of information but implicitly take the experience of familiarity to be diagnostic of truth. Because of age-related declines in explicit (but not implicit) memory performance, this effect may be exaggerated in older adults, with the paradoxical result that more warnings about the falseness of information can late create an increased beliefs in the truth of that information. The proposed research investigates this possibility along with ways to change the illusion of truth: cognitive load might increase the effect and attention to multiple memory cues might decrease the effect. Finally, reversing people's implicit beliefs about familiarity would create the illusion of falseness, with the consequence that people would disbelieve familiar true information.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
5F32AG005829-02
Application #
6194065
Study Section
Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 3 (HUD)
Program Officer
Elias, Jeffrey W
Project Start
2000-01-01
Project End
Budget Start
2000-01-01
Budget End
2000-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$18,208
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
791277940
City
Ann Arbor
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48109