Altered photos play tricks on memory

Found : Altered photos play tricks on memory

New York, Nov 22 – Doctored photos have a way of affecting your memory, according to a new study that used digitally altered images of public events.

The study, initiated by the University of California at Irvine, found that doctored photos of public events can make them appear bigger and more violent than they actually were…

Shown digitally altered images of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in Beijing and a 2003 anti-war protest in Rome, participants in the study recalled the events differently from the way they unfolded…

When media use digitally doctored photographs, they may ultimately change the way we recall history, said psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, who initiated the study.

'It shows the power of anyone to tamper with people's recollection, and it gives the media another reason to regulate such doctoring, besides ethical reasons,' Loftus said.