Sacchi et al (2007)

• Contemporary study: Sacchi et al (2007) Changing history: doctored photographs affect memory for past public events.
• Saachi et al (2007) AIM:

  Contemporary study: Sacchi et al (2007) Changing history: doctored photographs affect memory for past public events.

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  Aim(s)

  To investigate whether doctored photographs of two well known events could change a person’s memories of an event.

  To find out if viewing doctored images would change the attitudes a person has towards a past event.

  To investigate if viewing doctored images of a past event could change behavioural intentions in the future.
• Saachi et al (2007) SAMPLE:

  187 participants (31 male and 156 female) who were undergraduates (92% Psychology, 8% other) enrolled at the University of Padua or at the University of Udine, in Italy. The age range was 19–39 (mean age 22.3 years). Participants did not receive any compensation for involvement.
• Saachi et al (2007) PROCEDURE:

  A doctored version of each original photograph was created using Microsoft Picture It! Photo 2001.

  For the Beijing event, a conspicuous crowd was added on both sides of the line of tanks. In the photograph for the Rome event, police officers and aggressive-looking demonstrators were placed among the peaceful crowds.
• Saachi et al (2007) PROCEDURE:

  There were four possible combinations counterbalanced and randomised when presented:

  two original photos (N=48)

  two doctored photos (N=44)

  the doctored Beijing photo and original Rome photo (N=43)

  the original Beijing photo and doctored Rome photo (N=52)
• Saachi et al (2007) PROCEDURE:

  A study involved participants identifying major public events from the past 15 years using doctored photographs. They completed a questionnaire with manipulation check questions, critical questions, and attitude questions. The questionnaire assessed if the photographs were believable and familiar with the events.
• Saachi et al (2007) PROCEDURE:

  Participants' memories of the event were assessed, and critical questions addressed potential biases. Attitude questions tested if the doctored material influenced attitudes towards the events. A blank page was left for participants to comment on the event. The study's purpose was revealed during debriefing.
• Saachi et al (2007) RESULTS:

  
• Saachi et al (2007) CONCLUSIONS:

  Participants in a study compared the familiarity with a photograph of a Beijing event and a Rome event. The original version was more likely to recognize the photo, while the doctored version was more familiar. Participants who saw the altered photo reported higher estimates of the event's participants and location. However, those exposed to the doctored photo were more likely to report more violence and negative ratings of the event. The ratings varied between the two conditions.
• Saachi et al (2007)(Part 2) AIM:

  To test the hypothesis that the exposure to a doctored photograph of a past public event could affect people’s behavioural intentions a second study was conducted.
• Saachi et al (2007) (part 2) SAMPLE:

  A total of 112 participants (35 male, 73 females, 4 did not specify gender) enrolled at University in Italy. The age range was 50–84 (mean age 64.9). About 56% of the participants were retired, 20% were still working and the remaining 24% did not indicate their occupation. Participants did not receive any kind of compensation for involvement.
• Saachi et al (2007) (part 2) PROCEDURE:

  The same photographs from Experiment 1 were used as stimulus material and participants viewed only one of four possible combinations (as in the first experiment). The questions were the same, however one question was added for the Rome event to rate how likely they would be to take part in a similar demonstration.
• Saachi et al (2007) (part 2) RESULTS:

  Showed that in comparison to participants who viewed the original photograph of Rome, when asked if they would take part in a similar demonstration those who saw the doctored photograph gave significantly lower ratings compared to participants in the original condition.
• Saachi et al (2007) (part 2) CONCLUSIONS:

  Viewing modified images affected not only the way people remember past public events, but also their attitudes and behavioural intentions. The effect was similar for younger and older adults, regardless of whether the specific events were recent enough to be remembered first hand.

  According to these findings, anybody intending to deceive people and affect their opinion by circulating such material would have a good chance of being successful.
• Saachi et al (2007) (part 2) CONCLUSIONS:

  Overall, it raises the question that if viewing false pictures during the retrieval stage affects recollection of well-known events, what happens when we are exposed to misleading material when we first learn about a new event?