Loftus and Palmer: Memory (Cognitive)

Question 1

When was Loftus and Palmer’s study published?

Answer 1

1974

Question 2

What theories was Loftus and Palmer’s study based on?

Answer 2

-Schema theory proposes that memory is influenced by what an individual already knows. Loftus and Palmer wanted to investigate the reconstructive nature of memory

Question 3

What was the background to Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 3

-Memory involves interpreting what is seen/heard, recording bits, and reconstructing this information into memories, implying recall can be distorted or biased.
-Loftus and Palmer conducted studies investigating ways memory was distorted to show how unreliable eyewitness testimonies are.
-Study focuses on ‘leading questions’

Question 4

What was the research method and design in each experiment?

Answer 4

Lab experiment and independent measures design for both.

Question 5

What was the IV and DV in experiment 1?

Answer 5

IV was the critical verb in the question: how fast were the cars going when they hit/smashed/collided/contacted/bumped each other?
DV was the estimated speed given by the participants

Question 6

What was the IV and DV in experiment 2?

Answer 6

IV was the wording on a question in the questions: how fast were the cars going when they smashed/hit each other? and another group was not asked about speed.
The DV was whether they reported seeing glass when asked a week later.

Question 7

What was the sample for experiment 1 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 7

45 students were divided into 5 groups with 9 participants in each. No age, gender, or sampling method recorded

Question 8

What was the sample of experiment 2 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 8

150 students were divided into 3 groups with 50 in each. No age, gender, or sampling method recorded.

Question 9

What was the procedure for experiment 1 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 9

-All participants shown the same 7 film clips of different traffic accidents which were originally made as part of a driver safety film
-After each clip particpants were given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and then answer questions about the accident
-Critical question: “about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”
-Other critical verbs were smashed, collided, contacted, or bumped

Question 10

What was the procedure for experiment 2 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 10

-All participants shown a 1 minute film which contained a four second multiple car crash
-Then given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and answer questions on it.
-Critical question: “about how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”. Another group asked with “hit” as the critical verb and another group not asked about speed
-One week later, all participants completed another questionniare without seeing the clip again with the critical question “did you see any broken glass - Yes/No?” when there was no broken glass in the original film

Question 11

What were the results for experiment 1 of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 11

Mean speed estimates (mph) were as follows: 40.5 for smashed; 39.3 for collided; 38.1 for bumped; 34.0 for hit; and 31.8 for contacted. Smashed produced the fastest speed estimates and contacted the slowest
-Film with crash at 20mph estimated to be 37.7mph, 30mph estimated 26.2mph, and 40mph estimated to be 39.7mph and 36.1mph. So we are generally poor at estimating speed.

Question 12

What were the results for experiment 2 of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 12

-16 participants in the ‘smashed’ condition and 7 in the ‘hit’ condition and 6 in the control group reported seeing broken glass
-The majority of people correctly recalled that they had not seen any broken glass

Question 13

What conclusions can be drawn from Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 13

-Response bias. When a participant is unclear what speed to estimate, the verb gives them a clue as to whether they should estimate low or high
-Memory distortion. The verb used in the question actually alters a participant’s memory of the crash
-There are two kinds of information in our memory for a ‘complex occurrence’: information from the perception of the original event and post-event information. These integrate over time and become indistinguishable

Question 14

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research method in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 14

-highly controlled environment, precise timings of films, inclusions of fillers eliminated many extraneous variables
-Thus researchers can be confident it was the IV affecting the DV
-Lacks realism (environment and task)
-Watching a film is not the same experience as witnessing a real event
-Would experience more intense emotions which are known to affect memory
-Witnesses to a real crash would also have more motive to recall accurately (genuine consequences)

Question 15

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the types of data collected in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 15

-Quantitative so easy comparison between conditions
-No opportunity for participants to comment either on what they remembered, or on their experience of being questioned in this way.

Question 16

What ethical considerations are there for Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 16

-Minimal ethical issues
-Participants may have experienced real car crashes which would likely be traumatising
-Participants were students so they may have felt obliged to participate
-Therefore, informed consent may have not been genuine

Question 17

Can Loftus and Palmer’s experiment be considered valid?

Answer 17

-High levels of control so few extraneous variables. For example, filler questions reduced the chance of participants working out the aim
-Some films were real accidents making the context more realistic
-Lack of realism (task and environment)
-Some people may have worked out the aim (esp. in experiment 2)
-More relaxed and less motivated to remember details than a real life situation
-Real life crash would involved more emotions which may make it more or less memorable

Question 18

Can Loftus and Palmer’s study be considered reliable?

Answer 18

-Highly standardised (eg. length of films) so internal reliability
-Similar results were found for speed estimates with the verbs ‘smashed’ and ‘hit’ in experiments 1 and 2 so more likely to have external reliability

Question 19

Was there any sampling bias in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 19

-All students so unlikely to be representative of the population
-Likely to have been predominantly white, middle class, and within a narrow age range
-Students more vulnerable to demand characteristics
-Students so more used to taking information in and being tested on it
-Participants less likely to be drivers than the population as a whole and speed estimates may therefore be less accurate

Question 20

Can Loftus and Palmer be considered ethnocentric?

Answer 20

-University of Washington so bias towards American culture
-International students
-Assumes legal systems are identical to America in other countries
-However, there is the argument that all brains are the work the same, no matter the culture

Question 21

What are the practical application of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 21

Important in helping authorities to understand how to question witnesses to important events such as accidents and crimes. This is likely to have improved the rate of successful criminal convictions.