Monday, July 18, 2011

Language Log » Presupposition and boasting instructions for politicians

From the department of “Information Responsibility Includes Knowing How Your Brain Can Let You Down:”

In fact, psychological studies as far back as the seventies have shown that people can be so eager to accommodate presupposed information that they might even tweak their own memories accordingly. In a study led by memory scientist Elizabeth Loftus, people who'd witnessed simulated car crashes were more likely to mistakenly remember a stop sign when asked "Do you remember seeing the stop sign?" as opposed to "Do you remember seeing a stop sign?"

Language Log » Presupposition and boasting instructions for politicians

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