The influence of accent on the misinformation effect

Abstract

The primary aim of the present experiment was to investigate whether accent in which postevent information is delivered has an influence on the misinformation effect. The standard misinformation procedure was used in which misinformation was presented in either New Zealand or North American accent. Additionally, attitude scales were introduced to measure subjects' attitude toward the two accents. NA English received higher ratings on characteristics of power and social attractiveness than NZ English. When the influence of accent on the misinformation procedure was analysed, it was found that while in the NA accent condition subjects were misled regardless of whether they perceived the speaker as high or low on power and social attractiveness, in the New Zealand condition only those subjects who perceived the speaker as powerful and socially attractive were misled. Additionally, slides exposure time was manipulated to reveal the effect of accent in the reduced misinformation condition. Although the misinformation effect was unaffected by the manipulation, subjects became more confident about their incorrect answers in the longer exposure condition.