Pluto behaving badly: false beliefs and their consequences.
We exposed college students to suggestive materials in order to lead them to believe that, as children, they had a negative experience at Disneyland involving the Pluto character. A sizable minority of subjects developed a false belief or memory that Pluto had uncomfortably licked their ear. Suggestions about a positive experience with Pluto led to even greater acceptance of a lovable ear-licking episode. False beliefs and memories had repercussions; those seduced by the bad suggestions were not willing to pay as much for a Pluto souvenir. These findings are among the first to demonstrate that false beliefs can have repercussions for people, meaning that they can influence their later thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.
Berkowitz
Shari R
SR
Department of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine 92697-7080, USA. sberkowi@uci.edu
Laney
Cara
C
Morris
Erin K
EK
Garry
Maryanne
M
Loftus
Elizabeth F
EF
D000328:Adult; D000378:Agonistic Behavior; D002140:California; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012094:Repression, Psychology