Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2025

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
Published on: January 31, 2017
Misinformation and the epistemic integrity of democracy
Stephan Lewandowsky1, Ullrich K H Ecker2, John Cook3
1University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; University of Potsdam, Germany; University of Western Australia, Australia.
Abstract:
Democracy relies on a shared body of knowledge among citizens, for example trust in elections and reliable knowledge to inform policy-relevant debate. We review the evidence for widespread disinformation campaigns that are undermining this shared knowledge. We establish a common pattern by which science and scientists are discredited and how the most recent frontier in those attacks involves researchers in misinformation itself. We list several ways in which psychology can contribute to countermeasures.
Related Concept Videos
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
Groupthink
Bias
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
Confirmation Biases
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Hindsight Biases

