← all facts
memory
You eventually believe the lies you heard before.
The persuasive power of a message can increase over time, even if the source was initially discredited.
When people hear a message from an unreliable source, they initially discount it. Over time, the memory of the message persists, but the association with the discrediting source fades. You retain the information but forget the reason it was unreliable.
Your skepticism has an expiration date.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Hovland & Weiss, 1951
- What the check found
- While widely cited as a classic finding, the sleeper effect is famously fragile and highly dependent on specific experimental timing and context.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.