Abstract
<p>Various studies report inducing false memories of meeting Bugs Bunny at Disney-owned themeparks. Such claims have been influential in psychology– thought to substantiate broader claimsabout false memories– and in the courtroom where the Bugs Bunny false memory research hasbeen used to question the credibility of those who report being witnesses or victims of seriouscrime, including sexual assault. This paper examines Braun, Ellis, and Loftus (2002) and findsmultiple false claims of statistical significance, including its headline results that the authorswere able to increase the rate of false memories through doctored ads. This article discussesother serious flaws in Braun, Ellis, and Loftus (2002) and its follow-up articles such asimpossible means, inaccurate p-values, apparent violation of random assignment, reportedsurvey instruments that were about generic theme park memories rather than Disney memories,and a failure to screen out subjects who may have authentic memories of a Bugs Bunnyencounter due to the authors’ misunderstanding of the history of Warner Bros. characters intheme parks.</p>