When warning succeeds: The effect of warning on success in ignoring invalid information

People often have difficulties ignoring (or discounting) a piece of information once they have learned it, even when they discover later that it is completely invalid. This study explores whether people who are warned, prior to receiving the information, that some of the information they are about to receive is invalid, can prepare for discounting, and consequently can discount more successfully. The results suggests that (1) early warning improves success of discounting only if people are reminded about the warning at the time they process the information, and (2) once reminded about the warning, people take more time to process the information. Thus, people do not prepare to receive invalid information by reducing the extent of elaborative encoding. Rather, they behave as if they generate counter-scenarios or alternative accounts of the information. Several alternative processes that may facilitate successful discounting are discussed.