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memory
You ignore obvious errors when your mind is focused.
In a 1981 study, participants frequently failed to notice when researchers asked how many animals of each kind Moses took on the Ark.
This is known as the Moses Illusion. People process the sentence for meaning rather than evaluating every detail for accuracy. Because Moses is a familiar figure in the context of the Ark, the brain accepts the false premise without challenge.
You see what you expect to see, not what is written.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Erickson and Mattson, 1981, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
- What the check found
- The 1981 study by Erickson and Mattson in the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior is the definitive source for the Moses Illusion, though the provided text did not contain the quote.
- 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.