How Self-Reference Enhances Susceptibility to Misinformation: An Event-Related Potentials Study

Self-reference can increase susceptibility to misinformation, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the current study, we introduced an explicit memory reactivation phase prior to misinformation exposure to investigate how self-referential encoding affects the formation of suggestive false memories. Twenty-eight participants encoded event scenarios either as protagonists directly involved in the events (i.e., self-reference) or as bystanders observing others (i.e., other-reference), and subsequently read narratives containing misleading information. Behavioral results showed that self-referential encoding led to higher misinformation acceptance. Event-related potential analyses revealed that self-reference enhanced late memory reactivation, indexed by the late positive component (LPC), but not early reactivation of the frontal N400 (FN400). During misinformation exposure, misleading information elicited greater late posterior negativity (LPN) than control information, specifically for self-referential memories, reflecting increased source monitoring demands. We also found that successfully rejected misinformation elicited more negative LPN than control information, again specifically for self-referential memories. Our findings imply that self-reference enhances susceptibility to misinformation through two potential mechanisms: stronger late-stage memory reactivation that increases memory instability, and enhanced integration of misinformation with self-representations, which triggers source monitoring without ensuring successful rejection.