Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
What is the assumption of the cognitive area?
Behaviour is influenced by inner mental processes such as our memory
What are the three stages of memory?
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
What 3 types of information create memories?
Information received at event
Information gained after event
Schemas
Which 2 studies investigate memory?
Loftus and Palmer
Grant
Which is the classic study of the cognitive area?
Loftus and Palmer
What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment?
To investigate whether leading questions, given after witnessing an event, influence memory of that event
What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment?
To investigate whether memory of accidents can actually be changed/distorted by the verb used
Describe the sample used in Loftus and Palmer’s first experiment
45 American students from the University of Washington (both male and female)
How many film clips were used in experiment 1?
7 film clips of traffic accidents
What did the questionnaire ask the participants to do?
Describe everything they could remember about the accident
Answer specific questions about the accident including a hidden critical question
What was the critical question in L & P’s first experiment?
About how fast were the cars going when they ________ into each other?
What were the 5 conditions in L & P’s first experiment?
Smashed Crashed Bumped Hit Contacted
What was the mean estimate of speed in the ‘smashed’ condition?
40.8 mph
What was the mean estimate of speed in the ‘contacted’ condition?
31.8 mph
What conclusion could be drawn from the results of experiment 1?
Memory is affected by leading questions
Describe the sample used in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment
150 American students from the University of Washington (both male and female)
How many film clips were used Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment?
1 one-minute film clip of a traffic accident
What did the questionnaire in experiment 2 ask participants to do?
Describe everything they could remember about the accident 2/3 of the groups were asked the critical question: “about how fast were the cars going when they ____________ into each other?”
What were the 3 conditions in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment?
Smashed Hit Control group (didn’t have a leading question)
How long did did the participants in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment go home for after completing the questionnaire?
1 week
What was the question participants were asked after the 1 week break in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment?
Did you see broken glass? Yes/No
How many “smashed-condition” participants in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment said they saw broken glass?
16
How many “hit-condition” participants in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment said they saw broken glass?
7
How many “Control-condition” participants in Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment said they saw broken glass?
6
What is the conclusion on Loftus and Palmer’s second experiment?
Leading questions used after an event can reconstruct a person’s memory
