Misleading information

• what are leading questions?

  questions that suggest a certain answer from the way it is phrased.
• who are the main psychologists that researched leading questions?

  loftus and palmer 1974
• how did loftus and palmer investigate the effect of leading questions?

  • 45 pps watched clips of car accidents (5 groups of 8).• they were asked the critical questions "how fast were the cars going when they..." • each group was asked the same question but with the varying verbs : hit, contacted, bumped, collided, and smashed.
• what results were found from loftus and palmers 1974 experiment?

  the mean estimated speed for the verb contacted was 31.8, significantly lower than 40.5 for smashed. suggesting leading questions can affect answers provided.
• what are the two explanations for the influence of leading questions?

  response bias and substitution.
• what does response bias mean in terms of leading questions?

  response bias explains how leading questions have no real affect on memory but influence how people chose to respond.
• what does substitution mean in terms of leading questions?

  substitution explains how leading questions change/distort memory.
• explain loftus and palmers follow up study.

  • a week later participants were asked a series of questions about the video. • those who were originally asked the critical question with the verb smashed were significantly more likely to report seeing smashed glass at the scene. who reported smashed glass:• 6/50 in a control group • 7/50 of the hit group• 16/50 of the smashed groupthis supports the theory of substitution.
• what is post-event discussion?


  eyewitnesses to crimes sometimes discuss their experiences and memories after the event.
• which psychologists investigated PED?

  fiona gabbert et al 2003
• how did fiona gabbert investigate PED?

  • pps we're paired and each in the pair watched a different pov of the same crime, meaning they could see elements the other couldnt, but were unaware.• together they discussed what they had individually seen.• they then took a recall test.• 71% of the pps mistakenly recalled aspects they couldn't have seen.• in a control group with no PED 0% of pps provided incorrect information.
• what are the two explanations for the influence of PED?

  memory contamination and memory conformity.
• what is memory contamination?


  when co witnesses discuss the crime they combine
• what is memory conformity?

  when co witnesses go along with eachother due to either normative or informational social influence, the memory remains unchanged.
• what is the main strength of misleading information as an affecting factor of the accuracy of EWTs?

  real world applications. it has important practical uses in the criminal justice system• police officers are now aware of the affect their phrasing of questions has on the accuracy of EWTs. • psychologists are sometimes asked to explain the limits of EWTs to juries. • this provides everyone involved a more in depth knowledge before important life-changing decisions are made, increasing the accuracy and reliability of the justice system.
• what are the three weaknesses of misleading information as an affecting factor of the accuracy of EWTs?

  • lack of ecological validity. • evidence against substitution.• evidence challenging memory conformity.
• how does research into misleading information lack ecological validity?

  loftus and palmers pps watched film clips in a lab which is significantly different to experiencing it first person.gabberts pps recalled information for research purposes so they are less motivated to be accurate.
• what evidence is there against substitution?

  sutherland and hayne 2001 showed participants a video and later asked them leading questions. results show their recall was more accurate for central details than peripheral suggesting their attention was focused on the central images as they were relatively resilient to misleading info. this implies that only peripheral detail memories are distorted; an outcome not predicted by the substitution explanation.
• what evidence challenges memory conformity?

  skagerberg and wright 2008 showed 2 groups of pps seperate clips, one of a dark haired man and one light. in pairs of opposite groups they discussed the clip, and when asked what colour the man's hair was a significant proportion replied "medium brown" - a mix of the two colours. this suggests the memory is distorted during PED supporting memory contamination but challenging memory conformity.