Cognitive (CLASSIC) - memory - LOFTUS & PALMER

Question 1

describe reconstructed memories

Answer 1

original event info - what was actually seen
this combines with
post event info - your expectations/ influence on others
to form
reconstructed memory - now merged and unable to separate

Question 2

define schemas

Answer 2

knowledge is stored in memory in a set of schemas which are simplified, generalized mental representations of everything an individual understands by a given type of object or event based on their past experiences

Question 3

define memory

Answer 3

our capacity to be able to retain and store memory

Question 4

background

Answer 4

Bartlett’s 1932 theory of reconstructive memory forms the basis for L&P study. Bartlett found that when people remember stories they leave out some details and introduce rationalisations to make the story sense. He found when retelling new information people made errors as they use their schemas to interpret the story and provide information which they think would be included rather than what was actually there

Question 5

define leading question

Answer 5

questions that in some manner imply or lead to a desired answer

Question 6

aim

Answer 6

1. to investigate the role of leading questions on the memory of an event
2. to see if the change in a verb could affect the memory of what what was seen

Question 7

research method

Answer 7

lab experiment

Question 8

sampling method to obtain participants

Answer 8

opportunity from washington uni

Question 9

procedure experiment 1

Answer 9

45 students took part and watched 7 different films each depicting 9 different traffic accidents. Films ranged from 5-30 seconds long
following each clip participants given a questionnaire and asked to give an account of what they saw. Then asked specific questions about the accident. Critical question included that interrogated the participant about the speed of the cars involved in the collision. Question embedded among filler questions

Question 10

exp 1 IV and DV

Answer 10

IV- verb used to describe the incident (smash, collide, hit, bumped, contacted)
DV- estimated speed of the cars in mph

Question 11

exp 1 results

Answer 11

smashed - mean estimate speed 40.5 mph
contacted - mean estimate speed 31.8 mph

Question 12

ex 1 conclusions

Answer 12

1. memory is altered/reconstructed memories - critical questions and the verb changes a persons memory so they actually see the the accident differently, more or less severe
2. response bias - different speed estimates occurred because the critical word influences or biases a person’s response - our ability to judge speed is not accurate

Question 13

procedure experiment 2

Answer 13

150 students shown 1 minute film containing a 4 second multiple car crash. Then given a questionnaire which included a space to describe what they had seen and answer a set of specific questions about the accident
One week later they were asked another questionnaire after not seeing the film again if they saw any broken glass

Question 14

exp IV

Answer 14

IV - speed of cars with different verbs but only hit, smashed or control group who were not asked about the speed of the car

Question 15

exp 2 results

Answer 15

mean speed for the smashed condition was 10.46 mph compared to 8.0 mph for the hit condition
16 participants in the smashed condition said there was broken glass compared to 7 saying yes in the hit condition

Question 16

overall conclusions

Answer 16

when verb smashed was used in the critical question about the speed, the mean speed estimate was 40.5 compared to when the verb was contacted was 31.8 suggesting the verb in a question influences a participant’s response
in experiment 2 more participants in the smashed condition reported seeing broken glass than those in the hit condition even though there was no broken glass implying that misleading post event information can distort an individual’s memory