2.5: Misleading information Flashcards
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks)
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
What was the method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment?
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, what happened?
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
What was there?
There was one critical question
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to do what?
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
How many conditions were there?
There were 5 conditions
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with how many participants in each condition?
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying how?
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - What?
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
What were then recorded?
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), what was the mean estimate of speed?
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas what?
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
What does this suggest?
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, what?
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (doing what?)
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos)
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such what?
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, what?
Therefore, it has low ecological validity
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, why?
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and what can we not do?
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study what?
Although the study can be replicated to check the results
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is what?
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, what?
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, participants’ answers may be due to demand characteristics
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, participants’ answers may be due to demand characteristics, rather than what?
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, participants’ answers may be due to demand characteristics, rather than genuine changes in memory
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, participants’ answers may be due to demand characteristics, rather than genuine changes in memory.
What may participants have just done?
Participants may have just given the answers they thought the researchers wanted
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, participants’ answers may be due to demand characteristics, rather than genuine changes in memory.
Participants may have just given the answers they thought the researchers wanted, as suggested by what?
Participants may have just given the answers they thought the researchers wanted, as suggested by the verb they heard in the key question they were asked
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (8 marks).
Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted 2 experiments into the extent to which participants’ estimates of the speed of cars involved in accidents witnessed on video could be influenced by misleading questions.
The method and procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment was that 45 university students were each shown 7 video clips of car crashes.
After each video, they wrote an account of what they could recall and answered a specific questionnaire.
There was one critical question, being to estimate the speed of the vehicles.
There were 5 conditions, with 9 participants in each condition and the conditions varying by which verb was used in asking the key question - ‘Contacted’ , ‘hit’ , ‘bumped’ , ‘collided’ and ‘smashed’.
Participants’ estimates of speed were then recorded.
For the verb of ‘contacted’ (the lowest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 31.8 m/h, whereas for the verb of ‘smashed’ (the highest-intensity verb), the mean estimate of speed was 40.8 m/h.
This suggests that leading questions do affect the accuracy of eye witness testimony to atleast some extent.
However, it is a laboratory experiment centred on an artificial task (watching videos) and as such lacks relevance to real-life eyewitness testimony scenarios.
Therefore, it has low ecological validity, because it was carried out in a highly controlled environment, and we cannot generalise these findings.
Although the study can be replicated to check the results and so is high in reliability, participants’ answers may be due to demand characteristics, rather than genuine changes in memory.
Participants may have just given the answers they thought the researchers wanted, as suggested by the verb they heard in the key question they were asked.
Therefore, what?
Therefore, the results may not be trustworthy
