Loftus and palmer

• background

  • Loftus believed that by using leading questions a persons memory could be distorted
  • memories can be reconstruction rather than replications of an event
  • schema theory
• aim e1 - to see if information supplied after then event influences a witness memory of the event
• method e1

  • independent measures design
  • iv - verb used
  • dv - ps speed estimate
• sample e1

  • 45 ps
  • Washington university
  • opportunity sampling
• procedure e1

  1. os shown 7 film clips of traffic accidents, 5-30s long
  2. after each clip asked to write freely about event
  3. asked the critical questions with the changing verbs - smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted
• results e1

  • smashed = 40mph
  • contacted = 32mph
• conclusions e1

  • memory distortion - the memory has been distorted by the verbal label which had been used to characterise the intensity of the crash, the memory of the crash is tied to a schema, the speed of the verb alters their impression
  • response bias - ps alter their estimate to respond in a way to please the questioner
• aim e2 -invesitgate if distorting memory of one aspect of an event can lead to distortions of other aspects
• method e2

  • independent measures design
  • iv - verb
  • dv - if claimed to see broken glass
• sample e2

  • 150 ps
• procedure e2

  1. viewed a 4s clip and asked if critical question, verb either smashed or hit, also control group
  2. one week later returned and asked if saw any broken glass
• results e2

  • 16 said yes in smashed, 7 said yes in hit
• conclusions e2

  • the verb in the leading question has a significant effect on our memory of the event, the intensity of the verb creates a schema of an intense crash and we guess there must've been glass
  • memory is still actually quite reliable, the majority of ps recalled correctly that there was no glass
  • reconstructive hypothesis - information gathered at the time of the event is modified afterwards and over time they integrate together till they cannot be distinguished
• strengths

  • lab experiment
  • useful applications
  • establish cause and effect
• weaknesses

  • low ecological validity
  • unrepresentative sample - ps used to memorising things
  • low population validity