Mitigating the Illusory Truth Effect Through a Novel Educational Intervention

Abstract

The Illusory Truth Effect (ITE) is a cognitive bias wherein participants rate repeated statements as more truthful relative to new statements. Although this effect may be less adaptive in our current media climate, where repeated information can circulate easily, few studies have examined how to mitigate or reduce it. In the current studies, we examined whether a novel intervention, consisting of a warning that some statements may be false and an engaging educational video on the ITE, may reduce or eliminate the ITE. Across three experiments, we found evidence for a robust ITE in the control group. However, we found an elimination of the ITE in the experimental group, offering insight on the potential of warning and education to eliminate the ITE that may be applicable to real-life settings.