Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
ON AN ALLEGED TRUTH/FALSITY ASYMMETRY IN CONTEXT SHIFTING EXPERIMENTS
1Umeå University.
Abstract:
Keith DeRose has argued that context shifting experiments should be designed in a specific way in order to accommodate what he calls a 'truth/falsity asymmetry'. I explain and critique DeRose's reasons for proposing this modification to contextualist methodology, drawing on recent experimental studies of DeRose's bank cases as well as experimental findings about the verification of affirmative and negative statements. While DeRose's arguments for his particular modification to contextualist methodology fail, the lesson of his proposal is that there is good reason to pay close attention to several subtle aspects of the design of context shifting experiments.
Related Concept Videos
Understanding Deception
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
Fundamental Attribution Error
Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect
Correspondence Bias
Confirmation Biases

