Maria S. Zaragoza

Research Area:

• Psychological Science - Cognitive

Research Interests:

Research interests focus on the role of misinformation in the development of false memories and false beliefs, and the mechanisms that give rise to these memory illusions.  Much of our work on misinformation and false memories has been conducted in the context of laboratory studies of eyewitness suggestibility.  In addition to understanding how people come to develop false memories and false beliefs, other projects focus on how best to correct misinformation (e.g., how to correct the effects of misinformation in the media, myths and misconceptions, etc.).

Courses Frequently Taught:

• Cognitive Psychology (undergraduate)
• Memory & Cognition (graduate)

Publications:

• Rich, P. R., & Zaragoza, M.S. (2020). Correcting Misinformation in News Stories: An Investigation of Correction Timing and Correction Durability. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.04.001 
• Ithisuphalap, J.,  Rich, P.R. & Zaragoza, M.S.  (2020) Does evaluating belief prior to its retraction influence the efficacy of later corrections? Memory, 28:5, 617-631,  DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2020.175273
• Zaragoza, M.S., Hyman, I. and Chrobak, Q.M. (2019). False Memory. In Brewer, N. and Douglass, A.(Eds.) Psychological Science and the Law, (pp. 182-207).  New York: Guilford Press.
• Rindal, E. J., Chrobak, Q. M., Zaragoza, M. S., & Weihing, C. A. (2017). Mechanisms of eyewitness suggestibility: Tests of the explanatory role hypothesis. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.  https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-016-1201-8
• Rich, P. R., Van Loon, M. H., Dunlosky, J., & Zaragoza, M. S. (2017). Belief in corrective feedback for common misconceptions: Implications for knowledge revision. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(3), 492-501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000322 
• Zaragoza, M.S., Rich, P. R., Rindal, E. J., DeFranco, R. M., & Zaragoza, M. S. (2017). Forced Fabrication and False Eyewitness Memories.  In Nash, R. & Ost, J. (Eds.).  False Memories, (pp. 72-86).  London, UK: Psychology Press.
• Rindal, E. J., DeFranco, R. M., Rich, P. R., & Zaragoza, M. S. (2016). Does Reactivating a Witnessed Memory Increase Its Susceptibility to Impairment by Subsequent Misinformation? Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, & Cognition. (dx.doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000265) 
• Rich, P. R.  & Zaragoza, M.S. (2016).  The continued influence of implied and explicitly stated misinformation in news reports. Journal of Experimental Psychology:  Learning, Memory, & Cognition. 42 (1), 62-74.