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Credible narrators and misinformed readers. Mem Cognit 2022; 51:825-844. [PMID: 36450939 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01368-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Stories have a powerful ability to shape our beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and knowledge about the world. In the current work, we ask how readers evaluate the truth of facts embedded in fiction. In three experiments, we investigate the influence of the credibility of the story's narrator on the likelihood that readers encode and recall misinformation contained in the narrative. Participants read stories containing accurate real-world facts and misleading lures. The stories were narrated by either a credible or a non-credible narrator. Following the stories, participants were tested for the critical story information with a free response test of their general knowledge (Experiments 1 and 2) or with a speeded true-false test (Experiment 3). Overall, narrator credibility had no influence on readers' memory for accurate information. However, readers were more likely to reproduce and affirm misinformation when it was delivered by a credible than a non-credible narrator. The current studies suggest that the credibility and the expertise of the source of the information are critical in determining what readers remember and believe.
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2
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Evaluative mindsets can protect against the influence of false information. Cognition 2022; 225:105121. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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3
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Kuhn G, Ortega J, Simmons K, Thomas C, Mohr C. EXPRESS: Experiencing misinformation: The effect of pre-exposure warnings and debunking on psychic beliefs. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2022; 76:1445-1456. [PMID: 35848541 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221116437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Misinformation can have a detrimental impact on our beliefs, and it is therefore necessary to understand the cognitive mechanism by which false information is integrated or can be changed. In two experiments, we worked with fake psychic demonstrations, because observers easily adopt the experience as reflecting a « true » psychic event. We manipulated the availability of alternative explanations by providing a general warning that the performer is a magician with no psychic abilities (Experiment 1), or disclosing afterwards how the fake demonstration had been staged (Experiment 2). In experiment 1, witnessing the psychic demonstration significantly increased participants' psychic beliefs, even though they had been warned. However, providing the alternative explanation about the deceptive method mitigated this effect. In experiment 2, the realization of deception significantly reduced participants' psychic beliefs directly after the performance, and remained reduced at the one week later.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustav Kuhn
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
| | - Jeniffer Ortega
- Departamento de Psicología, Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Keir Simmons
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
| | - Cyril Thomas
- Université de Paris, LAPEA, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
- LAPEA, Université Gustave Eiffel, IFSTTAR, Versailles, France
| | - Christine Mohr
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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4
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The effect of font readability on the Moses illusion: A replication study. Conscious Cogn 2022; 99:103284. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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5
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Moyer-Gusé E, Woods K, Rader K, Luong KT. Talking about TV: Mother-Daughter Viewing and Discussion of an Entertainment Narrative about Teen Pregnancy. HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2020; 35:1200-1209. [PMID: 31181976 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1623642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Narratives can bring about related discussions, which can influence narrative comprehension and future conversations - though little is known about how these processes interact. This study considers the interplay of exposure to a teen pregnancy narrative and subsequent mother-daughter discussion in an experiment with mothers and their teenage daughters. Participants watched a teen pregnancy narrative or a control narrative. After watching, they either participated in a mother-daughter discussion of sexual health or completed a distractor activity. The teen pregnancy narrative led to greater endorsement of teen pregnancy myths on the part of daughters - particularly when identifying with the pregnant teen character - but maternal discussion mitigated their effects on overall attitudes toward pregnancy prevention. Moreover, participants who viewed the teen pregnancy narrative were more satisfied with their discussions afterwards than were those who discussed sexual health without first watching the teen pregnancy narrative. This conversational satisfaction, in turn, led to more frequent mother-daughter conversations about sexuality in the following weeks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kelsey Woods
- School of Communication, The Ohio State University
| | - Kara Rader
- School of Communication, The Ohio State University
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6
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Jia L, Shan J, Xu G, Jin H. Influence of individual differences in working memory on the continued influence effect of misinformation. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2020.1800019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lina Jia
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Center of Collaborative Innovation for Assessment and Promotion of Mental Health, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jinlei Shan
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Center of Collaborative Innovation for Assessment and Promotion of Mental Health, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Guiping Xu
- Institute of Applied Linguistics, College of Chinese Language and Culture, Jinan University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hua Jin
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Center of Collaborative Innovation for Assessment and Promotion of Mental Health, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
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7
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Look it up: Online search reduces the problematic effects of exposures to inaccuracies. Mem Cognit 2020; 48:1128-1145. [DOI: 10.3758/s13421-020-01047-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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8
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Weil R, Mudrik L. Detecting falsehood relies on mismatch detection between sentence components. Cognition 2019; 195:104121. [PMID: 31733397 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
How do people process and evaluate falsehood of sentences? Do people need to compare presented information with the correct answer to determine that a sentence is false, or do they rely on a mismatch between presented sentence components? To illustrate, when confronted with the false sentence 'trains run on highways', does one need to know that trains do not run on highways or does one need to know that trains run on tracks to reject the sentence as false? To investigate these questions, participants were asked to validate sentences that were preceded by images (Experiments 1-3) conveying a truth-congruent or a falsehood-congruent component of the sentence (e.g., an image of tracks/highway preceding the sentence 'trains run on tracks/highways') or by words (Experiment 4) that were either sentence-congruent, truth-congruent, or both (e.g., the word 'train/tracks' preceding the sentence 'trains run on tracks/highways'). Results from four experiments showed that activating sentence-congruent concepts facilitates validation for both false and true sentences but that activating truth-congruent concepts did not aid the validation of false sentences. The present findings suggest that a detection of falsehood relies on a mismatch detection between sentence's components, rather than on the activation of true content in the context of a particular sentence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Weil
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, United Kingdom.
| | - Liad Mudrik
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel.
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Umanath S, Ries F, Huff MJ. Reducing suggestibility to additive versus contradictory misinformation in younger and older adults via divided attention and/or explicit error detection. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sharda Umanath
- Department of Psychological SciencesClaremont McKenna College Claremont California
| | - François Ries
- Department of Psychological SciencesClaremont McKenna College Claremont California
| | - Mark J. Huff
- Department of PsychologyThe University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg Mississippi
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Nera K, Pantazi M, Klein O. "These Are Just Stories, Mulder": Exposure to Conspiracist Fiction Does Not Produce Narrative Persuasion. Front Psychol 2018; 9:684. [PMID: 29875710 PMCID: PMC5974536 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Narrative persuasion, i.e., the impact of narratives on beliefs, behaviors and attitudes, and the mechanisms underpinning endorsement of conspiracy theories have both drawn substantial attention from social scientists. Yet, to date, these two fields have evolved separately, and to our knowledge no study has empirically examined the impact of conspiracy narratives on real-world conspiracy beliefs. In a first study, we exposed a group of participants (n = 37) to an X-Files episode before asking them to fill in a questionnaire related to their narrative experience and conspiracy beliefs. A control group (n = 41) had to answer the conspiracy beliefs items before watching the episode. Based on past findings of both the aforementioned fields of research, we hypothesized that the experimental group would show greater endorsement of conspiracy beliefs, an effect expected to be mediated by identification to the episodes' characters. We furthermore hypothesized that identification would be associated with cognitive elaboration of the topics developed in the narrative. The first two hypotheses were disproved since no narrative persuasion effect was observed. In a second study, we sought to replicate these results in a larger sample (n = 166). No persuasive effect was found in the new data and a Bayesian meta-analysis of the two studies strongly supports the absence of a positive effect of exposure to narrative material on endorsement of conspiracy theories. In both studies, a significant relation between conspiracy mentality and enjoyment was observed. In the second study, this relation was fully mediated by two dimensions of perceived realism, i.e., plausibility and narrative consistency. We discuss our results, based on theoretical models of narrative persuasion and compare our studies with previous narrative persuasion studies. Implications of these results for future research are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenzo Nera
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Myrto Pantazi
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Olivier Klein
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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van Moort ML, Koornneef A, van den Broek PW. Validation: Knowledge- and Text-Based Monitoring During Reading. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2018.1426319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marianne L. van Moort
- Department of Educational Science and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Arnout Koornneef
- Department of Educational Science and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Paul W. van den Broek
- Department of Educational Science and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Thomas AK, Gordon LT, Cernasov PM, Bulevich JB. The effect of testing can increase or decrease misinformation susceptibility depending on the retention interval. COGNITIVE RESEARCH-PRINCIPLES AND IMPLICATIONS 2017; 2:45. [PMID: 29214206 PMCID: PMC5698386 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-017-0081-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Research has consistently demonstrated that testing prior to the presentation of misleading post-event information, within the context of a standard eyewitness misinformation paradigm, results in an increase in the misinformation effect. The present study investigated whether changes in misinformation susceptibility in the context of interim testing are affected by retention interval differences between misinformation presentation and final testing. Further, this study tested possible divergences in original and post-event learning between conditions where elaboration in processing of critical details was encouraged either indirectly, via interim testing, or directly, by visually emphasizing critical details. In two experiments, we compared three groups of participants. All participants were exposed to an event, presented with misleading post-event misinformation, and then given a final test on the original event. One group was given an interim test between the original event and the post-event synopsis. A second was presented with a post-event synopsis in which critical details were visually emphasized. A third group served as a baseline comparison group for which synopsis processing was not manipulated. All experimental phases occurred in a single session in Experiment 1. A 48-hour retention interval was inserted between the post-event synopsis and final test in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, we found that interim testing and emphasizing critical details increased misinformation susceptibility as compared to that found in the standard misinformation group. In Experiment 2, misinformation susceptibility was reduced in the interim testing group. These results suggest that interim testing and emphasizing critical details influence the rate of original detail forgetting. At a longer retention interval, the benefits of testing in learning emerged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayanna K Thomas
- Psychology Department, Tufts University, 490 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155 USA
| | | | - Paul M Cernasov
- Psychology Department, Tufts University, 490 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155 USA
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Abstract
We are regularly confronted with statements that are inaccurate, sometimes obviously so. Unfortunately, people can be influenced by and rely upon inaccurate information, engaging in less critical evaluation than might be hoped. Empirical studies have consistently demonstrated that even when people should know better, reading inaccurate information can affect their performance on subsequent tasks. What encourages people’s encoding and use of false statements? The current article outlines how reliance on inaccurate information is a predictable consequence of the routine cognitive processes associated with memory, problem solving, and comprehension. This view helps identify conditions under which inaccurate information is more or less likely to influence subsequent decisions. These conditions are informative in the consideration of information-design approaches and instructional methods intended to support critical thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N. Rapp
- Department of Psychology and School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
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Abstract
Surprisingly, people incorporate errors into their knowledge bases even when they have the correct knowledge stored in memory (e.g., Fazio, Barber, Rajaram, Ornstein, & Marsh, 2013). We examined whether heightening the accessibility of correct knowledge would protect people from later reproducing misleading information that they encountered in fictional stories. In Experiment 1, participants studied a series of target general knowledge questions and their correct answers either a few minutes (high accessibility of knowledge) or 1 week (low accessibility of knowledge) before exposure to misleading story references. In Experiments 2a and 2b, participants instead retrieved the answers to the target general knowledge questions either a few minutes or 1 week before the rest of the experiment. Reading the relevant knowledge directly before the story-reading phase protected against reproduction of the misleading story answers on a later general knowledge test, but retrieving that same correct information did not. Retrieving stored knowledge from memory might actually enhance the encoding of relevant misinformation.
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15
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Believing that Humans Swallow Spiders in Their Sleep. PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.plm.2015.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
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Lewandowsky S, Ecker UKH, Seifert CM, Schwarz N, Cook J. Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing. Psychol Sci Public Interest 2015; 13:106-31. [PMID: 26173286 DOI: 10.1177/1529100612451018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 773] [Impact Index Per Article: 85.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The widespread prevalence and persistence of misinformation in contemporary societies, such as the false belief that there is a link between childhood vaccinations and autism, is a matter of public concern. For example, the myths surrounding vaccinations, which prompted some parents to withhold immunization from their children, have led to a marked increase in vaccine-preventable disease, as well as unnecessary public expenditure on research and public-information campaigns aimed at rectifying the situation. We first examine the mechanisms by which such misinformation is disseminated in society, both inadvertently and purposely. Misinformation can originate from rumors but also from works of fiction, governments and politicians, and vested interests. Moreover, changes in the media landscape, including the arrival of the Internet, have fundamentally influenced the ways in which information is communicated and misinformation is spread. We next move to misinformation at the level of the individual, and review the cognitive factors that often render misinformation resistant to correction. We consider how people assess the truth of statements and what makes people believe certain things but not others. We look at people's memory for misinformation and answer the questions of why retractions of misinformation are so ineffective in memory updating and why efforts to retract misinformation can even backfire and, ironically, increase misbelief. Though ideology and personal worldviews can be major obstacles for debiasing, there nonetheless are a number of effective techniques for reducing the impact of misinformation, and we pay special attention to these factors that aid in debiasing. We conclude by providing specific recommendations for the debunking of misinformation. These recommendations pertain to the ways in which corrections should be designed, structured, and applied in order to maximize their impact. Grounded in cognitive psychological theory, these recommendations may help practitioners-including journalists, health professionals, educators, and science communicators-design effective misinformation retractions, educational tools, and public-information campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - John Cook
- University of Western Australia University of Queensland
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Jacovina ME, Hinze SR, Rapp DN. Fool Me Twice: The Consequences of Reading (and Rereading) Inaccurate Information. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E. Jacovina
- Department of Psychology; Northwestern University; Evanston USA
- School of Education and Social Policy; Northwestern University; Evanston USA
| | - Scott R. Hinze
- Department of Psychology; Northwestern University; Evanston USA
- School of Education and Social Policy; Northwestern University; Evanston USA
| | - David N. Rapp
- Department of Psychology; Northwestern University; Evanston USA
- School of Education and Social Policy; Northwestern University; Evanston USA
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Rapp DN, Hinze SR, Slaten DG, Horton WS. Amazing Stories: Acquiring and Avoiding Inaccurate Information From Fiction. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2013.855048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether fiction (narrative products) deals with the issue of suicide and, if so, what it tells us about suicide "drivers". METHOD Accounts of suicide in narrative products were sought through web-based lists, book club members, other active readers and a prize-winning film writer and producer. RESULTS Seventy-one depictions of fictional suicidal events were identified. In 12 suicides, the author appeared to indicate that the death was directly or indirectly due to mental disorder. In 15 suicides, the motivation could not be determined by the reader, and in 44 cases the motivation was social/situational factors. CONCLUSIONS Suicidal events are depicted in fiction, and the features are broadly similar to the features of suicide in the real world. Should it be determined that cultural influences, including fiction, are important in suicide, any preventive activities aimed at modifying cultural influences will need to consider all forms of narrative product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saxby Pridmore
- School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
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Marsh EJ, Butler AC, Umanath S. Using Fictional Sources in the Classroom: Applications from Cognitive Psychology. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10648-012-9204-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Umanath S, Butler AC, Marsh EJ. Positive and Negative Effects of Monitoring Popular Films for Historical Inaccuracies. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.2827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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