Cognitive - Loftus and Palmer

Question 0

What was the aim of the whole investigation?

Answer 0

To investigate reconstructive memory and how leading questions given after the event can alternate the perception of what happened

Question 1

What was the general focus of the study?

Answer 1

Reconstructive memories, interaction between memory and language

Question 2

What is the aim of experiment one?

Answer 2

To investigate the effects of leading questions off or ability to remember events

Question 3

What is the aim of experiment two?

Answer 3

To see if the results of study own were actually caused by response bias or leading questions

Question 4

What is the research method used?

Answer 4

Laboratory experiments

Question 5

What sample technique was used?

Answer 5

Opportunity

Question 6

Describe the sample of experiment one

Answer 6

45 mixed gender participants. 5 groups of 9 participants, all from the university of Washington, all students

Question 7

Describe the sample of experiment two

Answer 7

3 groups of 150 students, mixed genders from Washington university. The third group was a control group

Question 8

What was the IV of both experiments?

Answer 8

The critical verb used

Question 9

What was the DV in experiment one?

Answer 9

Participants estimate of the cars speed

Question 10

What was the DV of experiment two

Answer 10

Whether they saw broken glass or not (yes or no)

Question 11

How was the DV measured in both experiments?

Answer 11

By how close they were to the accurate answer

Question 12

What were the controls of experiment one

Answer 12

• order effects (random order)

- all participants received the same questionnaire

Question 13

What were the controls of experiment two

Answer 13

• the control group

- same questionnaire for all participants

Question 14

Describe the procedure of experiment one

Answer 14

Participants were showed videos of car crashes made for the driver education courses l. They were then given a questionnaire, which has a selection of filter questions and one critical question, which was about the speed of the car when the accident happened. For each group the verb used to describe the crash was altered, from being non-dramatic to serious

Question 15

Describe the procedure of experiment two

Answer 15

The participants were shown a short film of a car crash lasting 4 seconds. They were asked how fast were the cars going with ‘hit’ and ‘smashed’ (the control group 3 were not asked anything). They were then called back a week later and given a questionnaire with more filter questions in, the critical question now was ‘did you see any broken glass?’

Question 16

Describe the results and findings of experiment one

Answer 16

With the least serious verb (contacted) on average the guessed speed was 31.8, whereas with the most severe verb (smashed) it was 40.8. This showed response bias, as they guessed higher due to the verb given and the expectations of the word, and due to distortion, the words effect of the memory of the video.

Question 17

Describe the results and findings of experiment two

Answer 17

On average when given the verb ‘smashed’ when asked about the glass, 16 said they saw some. Whereas those with ‘hit’ showed only 7 positive that they saw glass. The control group said only 6 saw glass. This shows that the findings of the first experiment are actually due to the indication by the verb, as in both they over estimate

Question 18

Give one conclusion of experiment one

Answer 18

The wording of the question did affect the estimates given by the participants

Question 19

Give a conclusion of experiment two

Answer 19

Shows us that leading questions do distort the memory

Question 20

Outline one practical application of the study

Answer 20

Eye witness testimony, due to proving leading questions can alter our memory now you cannot base someone guilty off of just an eye witness, there needs to be evidence

Question 21

Evaluate the ecological validity of this study

Answer 21

Lacks ecological validity, this is because the car crash is not real - people would act more emotionally and uncontrollably when in the real situation. Also the participants understood that it was not real, so therefore they don’t accurately guess as there are no consequences

Question 22

Evaluate the ethics of this study

Answer 22

The ethics don’t consider deception, as the participants are not aware of the true aim of the study. Also some participants may become distressed at the prospect of a car crash. But overall they were all checked out and the participants debriefed.

Question 23

What data types were used in this experiment

Answer 23

Only quantitative, as the test scores were all that was needed to make a comparison as to how the verb had affected results. In study one this was the speed, in study two the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer

Question 24

Give two strengths of the study

Answer 24

• lab experiment

- practical applications

Question 25

Outline two disadvantages of this study

Answer 25

• ecological validity

- sample

Question 26

Give two improvements for this study

Answer 26

• stage a real car accident

- make sample representative with older/experienced drivers