The Moses, mega-Moses, and Armstrong illusions: Integrating language comprehension and semantic memory

Author(s): MacKay, D. G.

Journal/Book: Psychol Sci. 2000; 11: 350 Main Street, Ste 6, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Blackwell Publishers. 372-378.

Abstract: This study develops a new theory of the Moses illusion, observed ill responses to general knowledge questions such as. ''How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark?'' People often respond ''two'' rather than ''zero'' despite knowing that Noah, lint Moses,: launched the Ark. Our theory predicted two additional types of conceptual error demonstrated here the Armstrong and mega-Moses illusions. The Armstrong illusion involved questions resembling, ''What was the famous line uttered by Louis Armstrong when he first set foot on the moon?'' People usually comprehend such questions as valid, despite knowing that Louis Armstrong was a jazz musician who never visited the moon. This Armstrong illusion was not due to mis-perceiving the critical words (Louis Armstrong), and occurred as frequently as the Moses illusion (with critical words embedded in identical sentential contexts), but less frequently than the Mega-Moses illusion caused when Moses and Armstrong factors were combined.

Note: Article MacKay DG, Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Psychol, 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles,CA 90095 USA

Keyword(s): PERCEPTION

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