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PubMed1993

Misinformation and warnings in eyewitness testimony: a new testing procedure to differentiate explanations.

Although psychologists agree that the presentation of misleading post-event information often results in errant recollections, there is disagreement about the explanation as to why this occurs. Some (cf. Loftus, Donders, Hoffman, & Schooler, 1989) believe this misinformation alters the memory trace created by the original information, whereas others (cf. McCloskey & Zaragoza, 1985) have argued that the data do not necessitate this explanation. An experiment, designed to differentiate the various explanations, was conducted. Its critical elements were: (1) a condition with a specific warning presented immediately after the misleading information; and (2) a ranking procedure used at testing. The results suggest multiple traces may exist for a limited period, but not indefinitely.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2004

Stop-smoking medications: who uses them, who misuses them, and who is misinformed about them?

This study assessed smokers' beliefs about nicotine and the safety of nicotine medications and examined how these beliefs influence the use of nicotine medications. The data for this paper came from a nationally representative, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of 1,046 adults (18 years of age and older) current cigarette smokers conducted between May and September 2001. Respondents were questioned about their use of stop smoking medications, beliefs about nicotine, and the safety/efficacy of nicotine medications. Nearly all adult smokers in our survey had heard of nicotine patches (97%) or gum (94%), with lower levels of awareness reported for the nicotine inhaler (41%), and nasal spray (9%). Thirty-eight percent of smokers had previously used nicotine medications, with the nicotine patch being the most commonly used medication. The data reveal that most smokers are misinformed about the health risks of nicotine and the safety/efficacy of nicotine medications. Approximately half incorrectly reported that the reduction in nicotine in cigarettes has made cigarettes less dangerous to health and only one-third correctly reported that nicotine patches were less likely to cause a heart attack than smoking cigarettes. Smokers who were more knowledgeable about the health risks of nicotine and the safety and efficacy of nicotine medications were more likely to report past use of nicotine medications. Misperceptions about the health risks of nicotine and the safety/efficacy of nicotine medications may discourage some smokers from considering the use of these medications to help them stop smoking.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Monoamine oxidase inhibitor poisoning resulting from Internet misinformation on illicit substances.

The Internet may represent a new mechanism by which adolescents initiate the use of illicit substances. The existence of multiple partisan websites providing misinformation regarding the safety of these substances may lead to an increase in unsafe behavior among this age group. Adverse outcomes related to Internet-based drug information are rarely identified. We report a case of an adolescent whose use of the Internet to obtain drug information led to severe poisoning from the combination of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, harmaline, and a hallucinogenic tryptamine, 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A tale of two representations: the misinformation effect and children's developing theory of mind.

The present research investigates representational ability as a cognitive factor underlying the suggestibility of children's eyewitness memory. The misinformation effect is used as an index of children's suggestibility, and performance on the false belief task is used as an assessment of children's representational abilities (N = 117). Analyses that considered the effect of representational ability and general memory ability on children's susceptibility to misleading information showed that differences in representational ability and general memory ability predicted participants' susceptibility to misleading information. These results demonstrate that the eyewitness memory of children who lack either multirepresentational abilities, sufficient general memory abilities, or both (i.e., most 3- and 4-year-olds) is less accurate than the eyewitness memory of children with both multirepresentational abilities and sufficient memory abilities (i.e., most 6-year-olds and adults). Thus, it appears that the earliest age at which children's eyewitness memory can be considered to be similar to that of adults is 6 years of age, when children's mental representational abilities are similar to those of adults. These results suggest that one factor underlying children's vulnerability to misleading information is the number of representations of an event that they can simultaneously hold and compare.

Child↗
PubMed2000

Memory conformity: exploring misinformation effects when presented by another person.

Two experiments demonstrate that post-event information, when delivered by another person, can affect people's memory reports. In the first experiment participants were shown several cars, and later, in pairs, given an 'old'/'new' recognition test on these cars plus several lures. There was a small but reliable effect of memory conformity. When the person was given misinformation this lowered accuracy, while presenting accurate information increased accuracy. In the second experiment participants, in pairs, viewed an identical crime except that half saw an accomplice with the thief and half did not. Initial memories were very accurate, but after discussing the crime with the other person in the pair (who saw a slightly different sequence), most pairs conformed. Confidence ratings strongly predicted which person in the pair persuaded the other. Parallels with eyewitness testimony in the Oklahoma bombing case and implications for police interviewing more generally are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The reliability of staging and grading of bladder tumours. Impact of misinformation on the pathologist's diagnosis.

The influence of misinformation on the reliability of the histopathological classification of bladder tumours was analysed. Four consultant pathologists assessed 40 biopsy specimens of bladder tumours staging invasion and grading the specimens according to the Bergkvist classification. A random sample of 20 specimens was accompanied by systematically distorted information ("bias"-unknown to the pathologists) about previous histological grading of the patient (bias group); the other 20 specimens were used as control group (non bias group). After 6 months a second round with the same specimens was arranged to assess the influence of bias on the intraobserver variation. Using kappa (kappa) statistics the chance corrected interobserver agreement rate was poor both in staging of invasion and grading according to the Bergkvist classification (kappa < 0.50). The kappa values in the intraobserver study ranged from poor to excellent with a tendency towards lower kappa when the observer had been biased. The kappa values in the assessment of malignancy were acceptable to excellent. False information did not affect the pathologists' diagnosis significantly.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1995

Misinformation revisited: new evidence on the suggestibility of memory.

In three experiments involving a total of 623 subjects, a series of slides was shown depicting a student in a college bookstore stealing a variety of items. Next, subjects read a narrative describing the event that contained some misinformation and some neutral information about several critical details. Finally, subjects took a memory test. On this test, subjects were asked to list exemplars of 20 specified categories but were instructed not to list any items that they saw in the slide sequence. Analogous to Lindsay's (1990) adaptation of Jacoby, Woloshyn, and Kelley's (1989) "logic-of-opposition" paradigm, the tendency to report suggested details was thus set in opposition to the ability to remember the source of those details. Therefore, we interpreted failure to include suggested details as exemplars as evidence that subjects believed those details had been present in the event. Analysis of subjects' responses under opposition instructions suggests that some misled subjects come to genuinely believe that they saw items that, in reality, were only suggested to them.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

External breast prostheses: misinformation and false beliefs.

This article discusses common myths associated with the use of external breast prostheses and the impact this misinformation may have on the quality of life of women after mastectomy. A review of the literature reveals that very little research has been conducted on this subject. The majority of information on breast prostheses is provided by the manufacturers and tacitly accepted by healthcare providers and the media in general. Claims regarding the medical necessity of a weighted prosthesis and the suitability of gel fillings are examined and found wanting. Widespread acceptance of these myths may be preventing women from pursuing healthy lifestyle options and restricting the development of more suitable prosthetic products. The article concludes that a rigorous, evidence-based approach to the evaluation of external breast prostheses would enhance both the development of this noninvasive and cost-effective sector of post-mastectomy care, as well as the adjustment, well being and quality of life of breast cancer survivors.

Body Image↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nevirapine misinformation: will it kill?

In mid December 2004 three Associated Press stories created widespread doubts about nevirapine, a well-known, critically important drug that can prevent HIV in many of the 1,800 babies now infected every day by their mothers in childbirth. The media allegations that went around the world grew out of a bitter personal and personnel dispute between two employees at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. No new information about nevirapine was released; doctors know that it still has the same risks and benefits after the newspaper stories as before. But many experts fear that the emotions released by the worldwide misinformation will result in many HIV-positive mothers getting no treatment and unnecessarily infecting their children with HIV. Here is background that has been missing in many of the news reports.

Female↗
PubMed2004

Nevirapine misinformation: will it kill?

Three Associated Press (AP) reports in mid-December 2004 created widespread doubts about nevirapine (NVP), the critically important drug that can prevent HIV in many of the 1,800 babies infected every day by their mothers in childbirth. The media allegations that circulated around the world grew out of a bitter personal and personnel dispute between two employees at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) about the conduct of the HIVNET 012 trial in Uganda from 1997 to 1999. No new information was released about NVP; indeed, following publication of the AP reports, physicians know that NVP still has the same risks and benefits as before. But many experts fear that the emotions stirred by the misinformation disseminated worldwide will result in many HIV-positive mothers receiving no treatment and unnecessarily infecting their children with HIV. This article offers background that has been missing in many news reports.

Female↗
PubMed2005

Misinformation and misbeliefs in the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis fuel mistrust in the healthcare system.

The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis (TSUS) is an important issue in research, healthcare, ethics and race relations. The assumed consequences of knowledge of this study on the African-American community include mistrust of the healthcare system. In the July 2005 issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association, Brandon, Isaac and LaVeist (the authors), who were at the Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, reported the results of black-white differences in awareness of and knowledge about the TSUS and the effect of that awareness and knowledge on medical mistrust. The study surveyed blacks, whites and others in the Baltimore, MD community about their knowledge of and attitudes about the TSUS. The respondents who were aware of the TSUS were asked survey items to assess specific factual information about the TSUS. The respondents who were not aware of the TSUS were read a brief description of the TSUS taken from the CDC website. Both groups were asked if a similar study was possible today. The authors performed a regression analysis of mistrust of medical care based on race, knowledge of the TSUS and demographic variables. The editorial identified and explained challenges in the article, i.e., challenges in calculations, demographic analysis by race, knowledge of TSUS, cultural sensitivity and methodology. The authors miscalculated the "similar proportions" of blacks and whites who were aware of the TSUS; the recalculated proportions, favoring whites, were different than reported by others. There was no demographic analysis by race in their article--also different than other published reports. Most respondents--blacks and whites--who were aware of the TSUS at baseline answered incorrectly the author-selected questions about the TSUS, particularly the fact-based question of whether the TSUS researchers gave syphilis to the men-not dissimilar to one other report. The source for TSUS information (the CDC website) that was used to educate respondents who were not aware of the TSUS at baseline had contradictions, errors and challenges in black history, medical and public health history, and women's studies. The content of what was actually read to respondents was unknown. Proportionally more whites who were not aware of the TSUS but who were read author-selected information about the TSUS believed that a similar study could happen today-a belief and possibly mistrust of medical care that appeared to be induced-compared to whites with prestudy awareness of the TSUS but not read information from the CDC website. Both black groups were not dissimilar from each other. The authors used a survey that measured a race difference in response to a medical event (TSUS) specific to only one racial group (blacks) when there were inclusive examples specific to other groups available. The authors used "Tuskegee" as a single-word sound bite for the TSUS--a misuse that was inappropriate in scientific and research discourse and that may fuel mistrust of medical care. Whether knowledge of the TSUS was a predictor of mistrust of the healthcare system was inconclusive based on the results in the authors' article. The core findings of the article made believing their case difficult. The editorial suggested that bias and misinformation in undertaking, analysis and reporting the study may in itself fuel mistrust in medical care in the community. Because of these challenges, the editorial urged caution with regard to any change in research direction or policy debate based on the results reported in the article.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Hepatosplanchnic insulin kinetics in awake endotoxemic Yucatan minipigs: the "misinformed B-cell" hypothesis revisited.

Increased pancreatic insulin secretion may be one of the factors associated with the insulinlike activity (ILA) of endotoxemia. While there is little doubt that the prominent hypoglycemia of endotoxicosis is often preceded by systemic hyperinsulinemia, the cause of this increased secretion and its cause-and-effect relationship to the glucose deficit is less obvious. Recently, a "misinformed B-cell" hypothesis was proposed in which it was suggested that increased glucose flux across the pancreatic B-cell early in endotoxemia might lead to a misinterpretation of the existing glycemic state, resulting in increased insulin release. This possibility was based in part on the observation that increased 6-3H-glucose-derived rates of glucose disappearance (Rd) in endotoxic Yucatan minipigs preceded the onset of systemic hyperinsulinemia. Examination herein of the chronological order of events in this group of pigs and three other groups treated with lidocaine, naloxone, or captopril reveals an increase in pancreatic insulin secretory rate most often before increases in systemic Rd. Each of the three therapies were administered as a primed continuous intravenous infusion, 1 hour after the initiation of a continuous intravenous infusion of Difco 055:B5 E. coli lipopolysaccharide at an LD67 dose of 15 micrograms/kg/hr. In those pigs receiving no therapy, lidocaine, or naloxone, significant increases in pancreatic insulin secretion recurred at 40, 40, and 60 min following the onset of endotoxemia respectively. This was followed in 20 min by the first significant increase in relative glucose disappearance rates (%Rd). Captopril-treated pigs experienced a significant increase in %Rd at 60 min, which was followed in 20 min by a significant increase in pancreatic insulin secretion. In all groups, a significant hyperinsulinemia occurred transiently at 80 min postendotoxin, followed in 20 min by the onset of significant hypoglycemia. These observations suggest that increases in %Rd and transient increases in insulin secretion may be simultaneous events at best, and that along with significant increases in absolute levels of hepatic insulin extraction (observed in all groups at 60 or 80 min postendotoxin) may indicate some local effect of insulin release on hepatic glucose.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Misinformation among physicians about dangers of fetal x-ray exposure].

A survey among 20 gynecologists and 86 family physicians and general practitioners revealed that only 46% (70% of the gynecologists and 41% of the others) knew that exposure of a pregnant woman to common diagnostic x-ray is not an indication for therapeutic abortion (the opinion of a consensus of experts). This lack of basic information by those who advise pregnant women points to a serious public health problem. Pregnant women are frightened, and in a sense abortions are "coerced" by increasing the unwarranted anxiety. It is incumbent upon individuals and institutions to ensure that physicians, nurses and others in the health professions be well-informed and not supply misinformation.

Abnormalities, Radiation-Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Misinformation, mistrust, and mistreatment: family planning among Bolivian market women.

Results of an ethnographic study suggest that, despite stereotypes to the contrary, urban Aymara women in Bolivia want to regulate their fertility, and sociocultural norms support fertility regulation. However, the norms also make such regulation difficult to achieve. One barrier is a deep suspicion of modern medicine and medical practitioners, who are not seen as reliable sources of information. This suspicion is reinforced when the quality of health services is inadequate. Among urban Aymara, the level of acceptability of most modern methods of contraception is low. Many would prefer to use traditional methods, even when use of these methods entails considerable sacrifice and risk of conflict with their partners, unwanted pregnancies, and recourse to unsafe abortion.

Abortion, Induced↗