Conclusions

• Findings indicate that the form of a question can markedly and systematically affect a witness’s answer to that question. Loftus and palmer propose two explanations for this result

  1. Response bias factors - different speed estimates occur because the critical word influences a persons response
  2. memory represenation is altered - critical word changes a persons memory would lead to have a perception of the accident being more serious. if this is true we would expect participants to remember other details that aren’t true.
• Findings from experiment 2 suggest that the effect of leading questions is not the result of response bias but because of leading questions alter memory a person has of the event.
• • findings can be understood in relation to research on the effects of verbal labels on to be remembered forms such as Carmichael et al.
  • verbal labels cause a shift in the way information is represented in memory in the direction of being more similar to suggestion given by verbal label.
• • If second conclusion is true we would expect participants to remember other details that aren’t true . Loftus and Palmer tested this in their second experiment.
  • Findings from experiment two suggest the effect of leading questions is nit the result of response bias because leading questions alter the memory a person has of the event.