Summary of Loftus and Palmer EXP 1

Question 1

What was the aim of the Loftus and Palmer study?

Answer 1

The aim was to investigate how the phrasing of a question about a witnessed event could influence participants’ estimations of speed.

Question 2

What was the methodology of the Loftus and Palmer study?

Answer 2

Participants were shown a series of films depicting traffic accidents. After each film, they were asked to estimate the speed of the vehicles involved. Crucially, the researchers manipulated the verb used in the questions, asking participants about the speed using verbs like “hit,” “smashed,” “collided,” “bumped,” or “contacted.”

Question 3

What were the findings of the Loftus and Palmer study?

Answer 3

Participants’ estimates of the speed varied significantly depending on the verb used in the question. When more intense verbs like “smashed” were used, participants tended to give higher estimates of speed compared to when milder verbs like “contacted” were used.

Question 4

What did Loftus and Palmer conclude?

Answer 4

That different words such as smashed and hit have different speed orientations for participants

Question 5

What was the estimation of the participants when car ‘smashed’?

Answer 5

40.8 mph

Question 6

What was the estimation of the participants when car ‘hit’?

Answer 6

34 mph