The ConsumHERist - Source Amnesia

Posted on | September 25, 2008 |

By Delia Passi

I came across an article in the NY Times that discusses a phenomenon of the brain called source amnesia that causes us to disconnect a piece of information from its source.  We know that we learned something but can’t connect it to the source where we learned it.  In fact we can often disconnect that information from our knowledge of its authenticity.  In other words, we can hear something that is false but remember it as true.

Here is a true statement: Delia Passi has denied statements from a source close to her family that she holds a doctorate in applied psychology from Harvard University.   

I know this statement is true, because I told my husband (the source) to say so (the claim) out loud several times, and then I denied it because it isn’t so.   

If you read only the statement, your brain is likely to remember it incompletely or inaccurately when it is stored in your long term memory.  You may only remember the core statement that I hold a doctorate in applied psychology from Harvard.  In fact, according to other research cited in the article, if you already believed or wanted to believe that I hold an advanced degree, you are favorably disposed to dismiss my denial. 

Boy, could I use this creatively in the real world.  All I need to do to explode my company’s growth is to publicize to the world that my selling to women training has been said to make men irresistible to women, end fighting in the Middle East and stop global warming (only the first is true).  I’ll say it myself if I have to.   

Oh, and there is other research that says that the more times you hear something said, the more you begin to believe it is true, no matter where it comes from, so expect to hear me say it again and again and again.   

Yes, men, I can make you irresistible to women.  Pay attention.   

Delia Passi, Founder of WomenCertified® and author of Winning the Toughest Customer: The Essential Guide to Selling to Women is a regular columnist on eBrandMarketing.

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