Does mud always stick? Investigating the conditions necessary for retracted misinformation to continue to influence person impressions

This thesis investigates the continued influence effect (CIE) of retracted misinformation on person impressions. A corpus of behaviour statements were developed which informed a series of experimental studies. The experimental series explored factors that may moderate a CIE in person impressions, including misinformation valence, misinformation coherence, task features, and pre-existing beliefs (e.g., mental health stigma). Findings show retracted person-related misinformation is generally less robust than retracted event-related misinformation. However, pre-existing beliefs can contribute to a CIE in person impressions. This work developed an improved corpus of behaviour statements for future research and highlights the complexities of correcting person-related misinformation.