An initial accuracy focus prevents illusory truth

Why do people sometimes erroneously think that Toronto is the capital of Canada or that raindrops are teardrop-shaped?  How is it that a word or fact can be “just out of reach” and unavailable?  What changes, if anything, when you read a novel or watch a movie that contradicts real life? Have you ever listened to a conversation only to realize that the speaker is telling your story as if it were their own personal memory? Why do some listeners fail to notice when a politician makes a blatantly incorrect statement? These questions may seem disparate on the surface, but they are related problems, and reflect my broad interests in learning and memory, and the processes that make memory accurate in some cases but erroneous in others. This work is strongly rooted in Cognitive Psychology, but also intersects with Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Education.