Examining the Impact of Political Affiliation and Related Images on False Memories

The 2024 election, similar to the 2020 election, promised political divide and rampant misinformation (Pennycook & Rand 2021). Given the intensity of this polarization, the season provided a unique opportunity to gain insight into public perceptions and false memories. False memories can impact how we view and disseminate mass media; further contributing to the emergence and circulation of misinformation, leading to significant implications for digital literacy. This study aims to understand how individuals' self-identified political affiliation contributes to their susceptibility to misinformation. Furthermore, I aim to understand how viewing related images may influence the memory of fictional events. Although both are popular concepts in cognitive psychology, the literature shows a significant gap in assessing these conditions simultaneously. The study sample consisted of 214 college students at Western Kentucky University. Students assessed their familiarity with fictional and nonfictional news headlines regarding presidential election candidates. Participants were randomized to receive headlines with or without a tangentially related image. Participants used Remember-Know Judgements to indicate their memory of each event. Contrary to previous research, my findings suggest that neither political affiliation nor exposure to related images affects the acquisition of false memories. Implications of these findings in relation to political engagement, digital literacy, and avenues for future research are presented.