Loftus and Palmer- interaction between language and memory

• -schema theory- memory is influenced by what individual already knows- uses past experiences to deal with new ones
• -knowledge is built up by schemas- simplified generalised mental representations of everything an individual understands based on past experiences
• -Schemas is part of Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory which is basis for study into eye-witness testimony
• memory involves processing what is seen or heard, recording it then reconstructing it into memories when required
• recall can be distorted or biased by certain features of a situation
• Loftus and Palmer have done many studies to look at how eye witness testimony is unreliable as it can be influenced by subtle things- like wording on questions
• the study looks at accuracy of recollection when asked leading questions- thought that any info subtly introduced after event could affect memory
• Experiment 1- lab with independent measures
• experiment 1- IV- wording of a critical question- 'about how fast were the cars going when they hit/smashed/collided into each other'

  DV- speed estimated by participant
• Experiment 2- lab with independent measure
• experiment 2- IV- wording of a question in a questionnaire 'how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other' / 'about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other' -3rd group not asked about speed
• experiment 2- one week later all ppts asked critical question 'did you see any broken glass?'

  DV- whether ppts answered yes to this question
• Experiment 1- 45 students divided into 5 groups of 9
• experiment 2- 150 ppts in 3 groups of 50
• experiment 1- all ppts shown same 7 clips from drivers safety film, after each clip asked to describe + answer questions about the accident

  -one critical question asked with the wording changed for each group- hit/smashed/collided/contacted/bumped
• experiment 2- all ppts shown 1 minute film with a 4 second crash, then asked to describe and given questionnaire ab accident- critical question 'how fast were the cars going when they smashed/ hit into each other' 3rd group not asked ab speed.

  one week later all ppts asked if they had seen any glass- no glass in original film
• experiment 1- 'smashed' produced fastest speed estimate (40.5mph mean)

  'collided' (39.3)

  'bumped' (38.1)

  'hit' (34.0)

  'contacted' (31.8)
• Experiment 2- Broken glass yes- smashed (16), hit (7), control (6)

  broken glass no- smashed (34), hit (43), control (44)
• Conclusion- verb used in question can influence response

  -misleading post event info can distort memory

  -people not very good at judging vehicular speed

  -two kinds of info go into memory for a 'complex occurrence' and will integrate over time and we will not be able to decipher between the two