Expertise effects in the Moses illusion: detecting contradictions with stored knowledge
Allison D Cantor1, Elizabeth J Marsh1
1a Department of Psychology & Neuroscience , Duke University , Durham , NC , USA.
Memory (Hove, England)
|February 27, 2016
Summary
Even experts sometimes miss factual errors in their domain due to cognitive shortcuts. This study shows expertise reduces, but does not eliminate, the Moses Illusion, highlighting reliance on heuristics over direct memory retrieval.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory
- Decision Making
Background:
- People often fail to detect factual inaccuracies, even when they possess correct knowledge (Moses Illusion).
- This oversight persists despite later recall of accurate information, suggesting reliance on cognitive heuristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if domain expertise mitigates the Moses Illusion.
- To determine if highly familiar and overlearned knowledge is immune to such errors.
Main Methods:
- Graduate students in biology and history answered domain-specific questions with false presuppositions.
- Participants' susceptibility to the illusion and error reproduction were assessed.
Main Results:
- Expertise significantly reduced susceptibility to the Moses Illusion within one's expert domain.
- However, expertise did not completely eliminate the illusion, even with highlighted errors.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive heuristics are frequently employed for truth judgment, even by experts.
- Overlearned and accessible knowledge does not guarantee its retrieval, indicating the adaptive use of mental shortcuts.
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