Loftus and Palmer

• How many participants were in experiment one?

  45 students
• What was the methodology of experimental one?

  Participants were shown clips of traffic accidents

  They received a questionnaire

  They were asked a series of questions, including one critical question
• what was the critical question in experiment one

  About how fast were the cars going when they (blank) each other?
• How many groups were in experiment one?

  Five groups with nine participants in each
• What words were replaced in the blank space in the critical question in experiment one?

  Smashed

  Collided

  Bumped

  Hit

  Contacted
• How many participants were in experiment 2?

  150 students
• What group design did Loftus and Palmer use?


  Independent groups design
• What was the methodology of experiment 2?


  Shown a clip of multiple traffic accidents

  Asked series of questions about speed including the critical question

  One week later all participants were asked if they saw any broken glass
• How many groups were in experiment 2?

  Three groups

  50 participants in each
• what critical question was group one asked in experiment 2?

  How fast how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?
• What critical question was group 2 asked in experiment 2?

  How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?
• What critical question was group 3 asked in experiment 2?

  They were not exposed to any question because they were the control group
• What were the findings of experiment one?


  Smashed - mean speed of 40.5

  Collided - mean speed of 39.3

  Bumped - mean speed of 38.1

  Hit - mean speed of 34

  Contacted - mean speed of 31.8
• What were the findings of experiment 2?

  Those who reported seeing broken glass:

  Smashed - 16

  Hit - 7

  Control group - 6

  Those who reported seeing no broken Glass:

  Smashed - 34

  Hit - 43

  Control group - 44
• Response bias factors conclusion

  The different speed estimated occur because the critical question influences or biases a persons behaviour
• The memory representation is altered - conclusion

  The critical word changes a persons memory so that their perception of the accident is affected

  Some critical words would lead someone to have a perception of the accident having been more serious
• Experiment 2 - conclusion

  Effect of leading question is not the result of response bias but because leading questions alter the memory a person has for the event
• What is the main conclusion of Loftus and Palmer

  The form of a question can markedly and systematically affect a witnesses answer
• Empirical insight

  It was an experiment

  Can find the cause and effect

  The experimental group had a leading question and the control group had no question

  Strength

  Can make valid claims that leading questions lead to false memory
• Sample - culture

  College students in the US

  Other groups may be more or less prone to being affected by misleading questions

  Elderly may have difficulty remember in this source of their information

  Ethnocentric because there is no true representation of everyone for example some people have never driven a car and some people drive cars all the time such as a taxi driver

  Younger people are less experienced in driving

  Weakness

  Cannot make valid claims or generalise
• Alternative research


  Loftus and Braun

  Students were asked to evaluate misleading information about Bugs Bunny or Ariel

  Neither of these characters were at Disneyland

  Participants were assigned to the Bugs Bunny, Ariel or control group and visited Disneyland

  Participants in the Bugs Bunny or Ariel group more like to report having shaken hands with these characters

  Strength

  Shows how misleading information can create an inaccurate memory

  Increases external reliability
• How consistently was the procedure standardised?

  Participants were asked the same question with modification of the verb

  Was shown the same clip

  Both studies were standardised

  Strength

  Increases internal reliability

  Compare participants fairly
• Lack of valid consent - ethics

  If participants were aware of the aim of the study it would have affected their behaviour

  Participants point of view considered mild

  They were not psychologically or physically harmed
• Avoided psychological harm - ethics

  They were shown video clips rather than with a real accident

  Avoided distress by not showing real accidents

  However, they may have not responded to the task in the same way an eyewitness would in a real accident
• Act of deception - ethics

  The participants were deceived into believing that there was broken glass at the scene of the accident

  Participants can be deceived into believing something that isn’t there or isn’t true
• Conclusion of ethics


  Avoided the major issue of psychological harm

  Lack a valid consent was considered mild as it did not harm participants