Core Studies - Loftus and Palmer - Paper 2 Flashcards
Aim
To investigate the effects of leading questions on memory
Samples
Exp 1 - 45
Exp 2 - 150
Students at the Uni of Washington
Opportunity sample
Design
Independent measures
Lab experiment
Independent variables
Exp 1 - verb used
Smashed, hit, bumped, collided, contacted
Exp 2 - verb used
Hit or smashed
Dependent variables
Exp 1 - Speed estimated
Exp 2 - Answer to critical question; if they saw any glass in the video
Procedure - Exp 1
Shown 7 videos of traffic accidents
Videos were 5 to 30 seconds long
Ppts then asked to answer questions as though they were eyewitnesses
Critical question - how fast were the cars going when they —? (critical verb)
Procedure - Exp 2
Ppts shown a one minute film where a car drove through the countryside before a multiple car crash
50 asked about speed with “hit”
50 asked about speed with “smashed”
50 not asked about speed
One week later they were asked ten more questions without seeing the video
This included the critical question, “did you see any glass?”
The original film had no broken glass
Results - Exp 1
Estimated speed was affected by the verb used
Smashed - 40.8 mph - highest estimate
Contacted - 31.8 mph - lowest estimate
Conclusions - Exp 1
The verb conveyed an impression that influenced recall
This indicates eyewitness testimony may be influenced by the way a question is asked
This may have been a “response bias” - affected response but did not create false memory
Or this may have affected recall of the event and how it is remembered
The critical verb may change perception of the memory
Results - Exp 2
Ppts who were asked the “smashed” questions were more likely to report seeing glass - 16 saw glass , 34 did not
For the hit condition - 7 saw glass, 34 did not
Control - 6 saw glass, 44 did not
Conclusions - Exp 2
This suggests that there is no response bus and that memory is actually influenced
Confabulation is the addition of false details to memory
This has important implications in eyewitness testimony
