What term describes the misleading information that can alter a person's recollection of an event?

The term that accurately describes the misleading information that can alter a person's recollection of an event is the misinformation effect. This phenomenon occurs when a person's memory of an event is impacted by incorrect information encountered after the event has taken place. For instance, if someone witnesses a car accident and later hears an inaccurate news report about what happened, this new information can distort their memory of the actual event.

The misinformation effect highlights how memory is not a perfect recording of experiences but is instead malleable and influenced by subsequent information. This concept has significant implications in contexts such as eyewitness testimony, where suggestions or misleading details can shape how a witness recalls the event.

In contrast, memory decay refers to the natural fading of memories over time, false memory pertains to recollections of events that never occurred or are distorted beyond what actually happened, and reconstructive memory involves the process of piecing together memories using available information, but does not specifically emphasize the influence of misleading information. All of these terms relate to memory in various ways, but the misinformation effect directly addresses the role of misleading information in altering recollection.