Hate literature’s effects persist even when its specific facts are forgotten

Evidence

But I also suspect the effect seldom disappears entirely. People may not reflect further, and even if they forget the particular ‘‘facts” raised in the hate literature, they may still carry around the conclusion in their heads. We should also recall the several experiments which showed that students, when presented with hate literature and the truth, overwhelmingly believed the hate literature. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3301

Categorization

• QUESTION: What psychological mechanism allows conclusions to outlast their discredited factual premises? This connects to belief persistence and source-monitoring errors in cognitive psychology.