Accuracy Of EWT: Misleading Information Flashcards
Who researched effects of misleading information
Loftus and palmer
How did loftus and palmer research into the effects of misleading information
Through leading questions.
45 university students were shown 7 video clips of a car crash, they were asked questions and one was ‘about how fast were the cars going when they _ each other?’.
The blank space was filled with either: ‘contacted,’ ‘hit,’ ‘bumped,’ ‘collided’ or ‘smashed’ and these five conditions had 9 participants in each condition.
They found that participants who had the word ‘smashed’ had a much higher mean estimate of speed (in miles per hour and the word ‘contacted’ had the lowest mean.
They also asked another 150 student participants a week later if they saw any ‘broken glass’ when there was not any and people who had the word ‘smashed’ vs ‘hit’ had the highest rate to seeing broken glass.
Evaluation for misleading information
- Lacks ecological validity
- Unrepresentative sample
- Significan changes in police practice
Evaluation: ecological validity
One critique is the research lacks ecological validity as participants saw video clips of a car crash rather than experiencing it in real life. They will not have the same emotional impact since they have been warned about watching videos of car crashes while in real life it is unexpected. The research lacks generalisability because participants may not represent recall ability and accuracy of real witnesses because videos do not create the same emotional response or
interpretation of severity.
Evaluation: unrepresentative sample
The sample is not representative since it only includes university students (45 and 150 participants) and so this cannot be generalisbale to a wider target population. This is so important because it allows the researchers to make inferences for a large group of people, for example: a target population or the studying sample being used for research. It is also helpful
for deducing correlations and patterns in the results, which can make improved conclusions.
Evaluation: hanges in police practice
It has useful applications that can lead to significant changes in police practice, for example: not letting two witnesses discuss the event together as this may alter memories and giving false information to police. This shows that spreading misleading information has an impact on recall and can happen without our knowledge or awareness.
