Causes and consequences of misinformation during reading: Insights from eye tracking

People frequently rely on information even after it has been retracted, a phenomenon known as the continued-influence effect (CIE) of misinformation. This research uses eye tracking to investigate the cognitive processes underlying the CIE during reading. The eye movements of 85 participants were recorded as they read pairs of short newspaper-style articles containing a critical piece of information that was either retracted or not. Participants subsequently completed a comprehension questionnaire that tested their memory for general and critical details as well as inferential judgements related to the retracted information. To determine whether the CIE is modulated by individual differences in cognition, participants also completed tests of their language proficiency and working memory ability. The results of the comprehension questionnaire replicated previous evidence that repetition of the original information improved recall memory of the event. Linear mixed-effects models assessed the impact of misinformation and individual differences on readers’ eye movements across early and late stages of processing. The results provide insights into the cognitive causes and consequences of the CIE during reading. Implications for the development of effective interventions to reduce effects of misinformation will be discussed.