Similarly, we have analyzed a variety of other
misconceptions in a number of other different
domains—including knowledge of World War
II, the world’s languages, and the components
of the federal budget—and all of them replicate
the pattern shown for this question. The
cognitive anatomy of misinformation appears to
be one of too little exposure to print (or reading)
and over-reliance on television for information
about the world. Although television
viewing can have positive associations with
knowledge when the viewing is confined to
public television, news, and/or documentary
material (Hall, Chiarello, & Edmondson, 1996;
West & Stanovich, 1991; West et al., 1993),
familiarity with the prime time television
material that defines mass viewing in North