EWT Key Studies Loftus And Palmer (1974) Key Study 2 Flashcards
(16 cards)
What was the aim of key study 2
To find out the effect of post event information
What was the description of key study 2 AO1
150 student Pps
Shown a short film that showed a multi-vehicle car accident
The Pps were asked several questions after the short film
The Pps were split in 3 groups with 50 people in each group
Group 1 were asked :
‘How fast were the cars going when they hit each other ‘
Group 2 were asked:
‘How fast were the cars going when they smashed each other ‘
Group 3 were not asked about the speed of the vehicles !
They were a control group
One week later all Pps returned and amongst a series of questions were asked the critical (post event) question:
‘Did you see any broken glass’
However they were no broken glass in the film of the film that they watched but pps in all 3 conditions said yes
What does this study show
This study shows that misleading post event information (question) may change the way information is remembered ,therefore change the memory . This impacts the validity of the EWT as it can alters one’s memory of an event
How many student participants were involved in the study?
150 student participants.
What did the participants watch?
A short film that showed a multi-vehicle car accident.
How were the participants divided?
The participants were split into 3 groups with 50 people in each group.
What question was Group 1 asked?
‘How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’
What question was Group 2 asked?
‘How fast were the cars going when they smashed each other?’
What was the role of Group 3?
Group 3 was a control group and were not asked about the speed of the vehicles.
What critical question were all participants asked one week later?
‘Did you see any broken glass?’
Was there any broken glass in the film?
No, there was no broken glass in the film.
What did participants in all 3 conditions report?
Participants in all 3 conditions said yes to seeing broken glass.
What is a strength of the study regarding control?
The study is controlled, with video clips and viewing times being the same for all participants whilst the extraneous variable was each group was asked a different post event question about speed apart from the control group (group 3)
This shows that the procedure is replicable, indicating a cause and effect relationship as it should produce similar/same results in future investigations, reliability.
What is a weakness of the study related to its setting/not true to everyday life ?
The video clips used in the study was shown in a lab and hence are not true to life and are artificial therefore it doesn’t have an element of trauma or emotional impact .
This demonstrates that the findings can’t be generalised to real life as the accident wasn’t shown in real life as real car accidents would increase the accuracy of EWT, a lack of ecological validity
What is a strength of the study regarding its is useful application to everyday life ?
Research into leading questions findings can be used to help police interviews improve their interview techniques that avoid using leading questions by creating CI
This shows how research into misleading information findings has helped develop the Cognitive Interview which involves components such as report everything increasing the accuracy of eyewitness testimony therefore it has RWA.
What is a weakness of the study related to sample bias?
The participants in the study are all students, who may have different memory capabilities compared to other groups a students learn a lot for their studies
This suggests that the study results cannot be generalized, as the sample doesn’t include other members of the population such as adults therefore it lacks representation of the wider population.
