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sleeper effect
You eventually believe a claim you once knew was false.
Over time, the source of a message is forgotten, but the information it contained persists in your memory.
A 1951 study found that propaganda messages were initially ignored if the source lacked credibility, but participants became more convinced of the message weeks later. Your brain discards the context of the lie while keeping the data.
You are a filter that accidentally keeps the trash.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Hovland and Weiss, 1951
- What the check found
- The 1951 study by Hovland and Weiss is the seminal work on the 'sleeper effect,' which describes the phenomenon where the persuasiveness of a message increases over time as the source cue is forgotten.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.