LEADING QS

• what is an eyewitness testimony

  The ability of people to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crimes, which they themselves have observed.
• 4 factors that may affect accuracy

  anxiety, misleading info, leading questions, post event discussion
• What are leading questions?

  questions that point to a certain answer due to the way they are phrased
• Loftus and Palmer study

  How fast were the cars when they made contact, smashed together, did you see glass
• results

  contacted - 31.8

  smashed - 40.8
• describe follow up study


  Ps that were given the word smashed were the asked if ther ws any broken glass

  there wasn't but they answered yes
• what is a substitution explanation

  the wording of the question changes the participants memory of the event
• AO3: Weakness


  - Loftus and palmer use artificial materials

  - watching a video is different to experiencing in real life

  - doesn't give rise to real life factors such as anxiety and fear

  - Ps know they aren't directly affected by it
• AO3: strength

  - has real life applications

  - police officers now know to use leading qs as it threatens objectivity

  - inaccurate info - wrongful convictions
• AO3: Weakness

  - lab studies of ewt have demand characteristics

  - Ps want to be helpful so when they're unsure of a question they may guess what the researcher wants to hear

  - challenged validity of research