loftus and palmer

    Cards (8)

    • background
      memory involves interpreting what is seen or heard, recording and reconstructing memories when required
      recall can be distorted and biased by certain situational factors
    • aim
      to investigate the effect of leading questions on an individuals ability to remember events accurately
    • research method
      1 - lab experiment using independent measures design
      IV - the wording of the critical question - smashed, hit, collided, contacted, bumped
      DV - the estimated speed given by the participant
      2 - laboratory experiment using independent measure
      IV - smashed or hit or not asked about speed
      DV - yes or no to glas
    • sample
      1 - 45 students in five groups of nine
      2 - 150 students in 3 groups of 50
    • procedure
      1 - all participants shown the same seven video clips of different traffic accidents which were originally part of a driver safety course.
      after each clip the participant was given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and then answer a series of questions on the clip
      the critical question asked the speed of the cars when they hit/bumped/smashed/collided/contacted
    • procedure
      2 - all participants shown a one minute film clip containing a 4 second multi car crash
      they were given a questionnaire asking to describe the accident and then answer some questions
      one question was about speed (smashed/hit or not asked)
      one week later participants completed another questionnaire which asked if they saw any broken glass
      there was no broken glass in the film
    • results
      1 - smashed = 40.5, collided = 39.3, bumped = 38.1, hit = 34.0, contacted = 31.8
      20mph crash estimated at 37.7
      30mph crash estimated at 36.2
      40mph crash estimated at 39.7
      2 - 16 smashed saw glass, 7 hit saw glass, 6 control saw glass
      34 smashed didnt see glass, 43 hit didnt see glass, 44 control didnt see glass
    • conclusions
      the verb used influences responses
      people are not good at judging vehicular speed
      misleading post event information can distort an individuals memory
      two types of information that impact memory
      • information gleaned at the original event
      • information gained after the event