Cognitive studies Flashcards
what are the two studies in the cognitive area
Loftus and palmer (1974)
Grant et al (1998)
What did Bartlett say before the Loftus and Palmer study took place
Bartlett (1932) - Developed a theory called ‘reconstructive memory’
- he said our memory is not like cameras-we actually only remember parts of events that happen to us
- our mind fills in the blanks with information that makes sense or we expect to be there
- we get this information from our SCHEMA - these are organised packages of information about stimuli (e.g. events, objects, people, places) stored in our brain.
- If a certain schema is activated this may even change our minds
What is the key theme in the Loftus and Palmer study
memory = external influences on memory
eyewitness testimony
what were the aims of the Loftus and Palmer study
- To investigate factors that influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
- To investigate if post-event information could alter our memory
- To investigate if leading questions can alter the way we remember events
What was the Loftus and Palmer study: Field/Laboratory Quantitative/qualitative primary/secondary independent/repeated measures
Field/Laboratory —>Laboratory
Quantitative/qualitative —>Quantitative
primary/secondary —>Primary
independent/repeated measures —>Independent
what was the Independent variable for the Loftus and Palmer study and how was it operationalized
Experiment 1
Experiment 2
the language used in the question
experiment 1 = the verb used in the question: hit, smashed, collided, bumped, contacted
experiment 2 = only smashed or hit (or no speed question)
what was the dependent variable for Loftus and Palmer study and how was it operationalized
experiment 1
experiment 2
experiment 1 = Speed estimated of cars (mph)
experiment 2 = Whether or not participants reported seeing broken glass (closed question: yes or no)
How was the Loftus and Palmer study controlled
- All participants watched the same 7 videos
- Same questions asked (only the verb that changed)
In the Loftus and Palmer study what was the sample for experiment 1 and what was the sampling method
experiment 1 = 45 students from a university
in groups of various sizes
opportunity sampling
In the Loftus and Palmer study what was the sample for experiment 2 and what was the sampling method
experiment 2 = 150 students from a university
divided into 3 groups of 50
opportunity sampling
briefly describe the Loftus and Palmer experiment 1
1) All groups were shown 7 films of traffic accidents in a random order
2) After each film, the participants were given a questionnaire
- Firstly they had to give an account of the accident
- Secondly they had to answer 10 questions
3) One question was a critical question:
- About how fast the cars were going when they (hit, smashed, bumped, collided, contacted) each other
4) this lead to the five experimental groups
briefly describe the Loftus and Palmer experiment 2
3 equal groups of 50
1) shown 7 films of traffic accidents in a random order
2) After each film, the participants were given a questionnaire:
-Firstly they had to give an account of the accident
-Secondly they had to answer 10 questions
3)One question was a critical question:
-How fast were the cars when they smashed/hit ( 1 group of 50 participants did not get asked the question)
-(one week later)
did you see any broken glass? (there was no broken glass)
in the Loftus and Palmer, experiment 1 what order (quickest to slowest) did the participants mean estimate each verb
Smashed - 40.5mph Collided - 39.3mph Bumped - 38.1pmh Hit - 34.0mph Contacted - 31.8mph
In the Loftus and Palmer, experiment 2 how many participants said:
smashed group = yes and no
hit group = yes and no
control group = yes and no
smashed group:
yes = 16
no = 34
hit group:
yes = 7
no = 43
control group:
yes = 6
no = 44
what did Loftus and Palmer’s study rely on
eye witness testimony
what was the overall conclusion from the Loftus and Palmer study
Post-event information can severely affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony - we should not rely on eyewitness testimony too heavily and should be very careful what we say to witnesses
In the Loftus and Palmer study what were the conclusions for experiment 1
-The word used in a question can distort our memory of an event we have witnessed
-This could happen through:
=memory change (the word actually changes the way we remember an event)
=Response bias (the words make us interpret what we remember in a different way - this is when we are unsure of what we witnessed)
In the Loftus and Palmer study what were the conclusions for experiment 2
- Leading questions can distort our memory of events even to the extent of making us believe we saw something we didn’t (creating a false memory)
- We use our schema to fill in information we don’t remember - this supports Bartlett’s theory of reconstructive memory
Loftus and Palmer - internal validity
-It’s unlikely that participants guessed the aim, as they were each only asked the speed question once (and they didn’t even know that was the critical question)