Cognitive - Loftus and Palmer Flashcards
What was the aim of the whole investigation?
To investigate reconstructive memory and how leading questions given after the event can alternate the perception of what happened
What was the general focus of the study?
Reconstructive memories, interaction between memory and language
What is the aim of experiment one?
To investigate the effects of leading questions off or ability to remember events
What is the aim of experiment two?
To see if the results of study own were actually caused by response bias or leading questions
What is the research method used?
Laboratory experiments
What sample technique was used?
Opportunity
Describe the sample of experiment one
45 mixed gender participants. 5 groups of 9 participants, all from the university of Washington, all students
Describe the sample of experiment two
3 groups of 150 students, mixed genders from Washington university. The third group was a control group
What was the IV of both experiments?
The critical verb used
What was the DV in experiment one?
Participants estimate of the cars speed
What was the DV of experiment two
Whether they saw broken glass or not (yes or no)
How was the DV measured in both experiments?
By how close they were to the accurate answer
What were the controls of experiment one
- order effects (random order)
- all participants received the same questionnaire
What were the controls of experiment two
- the control group
- same questionnaire for all participants
Describe the procedure of experiment one
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
Describe the procedure of experiment two
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?’
Describe the results and findings of experiment one
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.
Describe the results and findings of experiment two
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
Give one conclusion of experiment one
The wording of the question did affect the estimates given by the participants
Give a conclusion of experiment two
Shows us that leading questions do distort the memory
Outline one practical application of the study
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
Evaluate the ecological validity of this study
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
Evaluate the ethics of this study
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.
What data types were used in this experiment
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
Give two strengths of the study
- lab experiment
- practical applications
Outline two disadvantages of this study
- ecological validity
- sample
Give two improvements for this study
- stage a real car accident
- make sample representative with older/experienced drivers
