Core studies - Loftus, E.F and Palmer, J.C (1974)

Question 1

What are schemas?

Answer 1

• Packages of info ab world - help us act certain way when we’re unsure
• form in mind from early age - all knowledge org. into units

Question 2

Memory:

Answer 2

Faculty/place of encoding, storing, + retrieving info

Question 3

Eye witness testimony

Answer 3

Account given by ppl of an event they’ve witnessed.

Question 4

Leading question:

Answer 4

Q that suggests what answer is desired or leads to desired Ans.

Question 5

Critical question:

Answer 5

Key Q hidden in study that RSer will use to compare results

Question 6

Response bias:

Answer 6

When respondents complete rating scales in ways that do not accurately reflect their true responses

Question 7

Post-event information:

Answer 7

Received + processed following an event, that has pt. of altering memory of actual events + affects EWT

Question 8

Schema theory:

Answer 8

• States all knowledge organised into units.
• W/in these units of knowledge, or schemata, is stored info.
• proposes memory’s infl by what individual already knows, + that their use of past experience to deal w/ a new experience = a fundamental feature of way human mind works.

Question 9

Misleading information:

Answer 9

incorrect/distorted info given to an eyewitness following an event

Question 10

L+P: Aim/Hp

Answer 10

Test their hypothesis that lang. used in EWT can alter memory - aimed to show leading Qs could distort EWT accounts via cues provided in Q

Question 11

L+P: Background Schema theory

Answer 11

Says that memory is influenced by what an individual knows already + by past experiences

Question 12

L+P: Background - Bartlett’s theory of reconstructive memory

Answer 12

• forms basis for Loftus and Palmer’s study into (EWT)
• in absence of all info, we fill in gaps to make sense

Question 13

L+P: Background - Marshall’s (1969)

Answer 13

found ppl had difficulty estimating speed of cars even if they knew they would be asked ab it

Question 14

L+P: Background - finish sentence: study focuses on the effects of….

Answer 14

• ‘leading Qs’ on individual’s ability to accurately remember events.
• expectation was that any info subtly introduced after event through leading Qs would distort original memory

Question 15

What type of study was it? (same for both)

Answer 15

• lab experiment using an independent measures design.

Question 16

Experiment 1: IV

Answer 16

• wording of a critical question hidden in a questionnaire.
• This Q asked, “About how fast were the
  cars going when they hit / smashed / collided / contacted / bumped each other?”

Question 17

Experiment 1: DV

Answer 17

the estimated speed given by the participant.

Question 18

Experiment 1: Sample

Answer 18

45 students /ed into 5 groups w/ 9 p’s in each group.

Question 19

Experiment 1: Outline of procedure/study

Answer 19

• All p’s shown same 7 film clips of diff traffic accidents (originally made as part of driver safety film)
• After each clip p’s given a Qaire which asked them 1stly to describe accident + then ans a series of Qs ab accident.
• Was 1 critical Q in Qnaire: “About how fast were cars going when they hit each other?”- 1 group given this question
• other 4 groups given verbs “smashed’, ‘collided’, ‘contacted’ or ‘bumped’, instead of ‘hit’

Question 20

Experiment 1: for each verb give mean speed estimate (mph) - Results

a)Smashed
b)Collided
c)Bumped
d)Hit
e)Contacted

Answer 20

a) 40.5
b) 39.3
c) 38.1
d) 34.0
e) 31.8

Question 21

Experiment 2: IV

Answer 21

• Wording on Q in a Qnaire:
• 1 group asked, “About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”
• 2nd group asked, “About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”
• 3rd group was not asked about speed.

Question 22

Experiment 2: DV

Answer 22

• whether ans to Q(ab any broken glass seen) was, “Yes/No.”

Question 23

Experiment 2: Sample

Answer 23

150 students /ed into 3 groups w/ 50 p’s in each group

Question 24

Experiment 2: Outline of procedure/study

Answer 24

• All ps shown 1-min film (contained 4s multiple car crash)
• then given Qnaire - asked them to describe accident + set of Qs ab incident.

Was a critical Q ab speed:
- G1 asked: “About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”

• G2 asked, “About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”
• G3 didn’t have a Q about vehicular speed.
• 1wk later, all p’s, w/out seeing film again, completed another Qnaire ab accident which contained further critical Q, “Did you see any broken glass – Yes/No?” There had been no broken glass in original film.

Question 25

Experiment 1 - conlusions:

Answer 25

• Form of Q can significantly affect an eyewitness’s answer to it.
• Could be because of:
  Response bias: uncertain ps use verb to bias their response
• Change in memory of accident: verb makes witness see a more or less severe accident.

Question 26

Experimet 2: Results - Response to broken glass question

Answer 26

Response Smashed Hit Control
Yes 16 7 6
No 34 43 44

• More p’s in ‘smashed’ condition than either ‘hit’ or control grps reported seeing broken glass.
• Majority of p’s in each group correctly recalled that they’d not seen any broken glass.
• Leading Qs do effect memory recall.
• In this case changing verb in Q to smashed gave higher estimation of speed by ps.

Question 27

Controls of both experiments:

Answer 27

• Same films shown
• Qs all identical except critical Q - embedded in other Qs
• order of films randomised

Question 28

Experiment 2 Conclusion:

Answer 28

• Confirmation that form of Q can significantly affect an eyewitness’s memory.
• This could be because:
• Memory consists of 2 pieces of info
• that gained @ moment of event
• that gained after the event
• Eventually both become 1 ‘memory’
  severity of verb ‘smashed’ distorts the memory of event

Question 29

Research Method: strength

Answer 29

P- Lab experiment, high control over EVs. E.g. every1 viewed car accident from same position

Ex: Allows us to establish cause + effect (IV had affected the DV), and increase internal validity.

Evid: Precise timings of the 7 car crashes films, presentation of the question order, inclusion of fillers.

Question 30

Research Method: weakness

Answer 30

P: A weakness of lab experiment = has low ecological validity.

Ex: weakness = behaviour displayed in study doesn’t reflect behaviour shown IRL settings.

Evid: Car crashes will create more emotion if seen IRL and would have more motivation to recall speed more accurately than a vid of car crash as was shown in L&P’s study.

Question 31

Data - Qualitative: Strength

Answer 31

P: = easy to analyse.

Ex: Comparisons can be made between results of each condition of I.V. to establish which has most sig. effect on D.V.

Evid:
- Exp 1: mean estimate of speed of vehicle (smashed 40.5mph and contacted 31.8mph mean speed estimate)
- Exp 2: presence of broken glass (Smashed= 16 said yes and in Control = 6) Can see which verb had biggest impact/how much broken glass quickly

Question 32

Data - Qualitative: weakness

Answer 32

P: One weakness of this type of data is that it lacks detail.

Ex: This is a weakness as it simplifies complex human behaviour making it hard to establish why behaviour occurs.

Evid: P’s didn’t have the chance to say what they remembered about their experience of the car crash or why they estimated the speed that they did

*However, they did technically collect qualitative data even though they didn’t use it so in a multiple-choice question you MUST select both

Question 33

Ethics: strengths

Answer 33

P: Minimal ethical issues

Ex: P’s had right to withdraw, were protected from harm + were debriefed.

Evid: RSers showed films of staged car crashes that had been filmed for H&S training so this should not have upset students

Question 34

Ethics: weaknesses

Answer 34

P: Did not gain informed consent

Ex: didn’t tell them the aims

Evid: P’s were not fully aware of aims – but they couldn’t be as this would have caused demand characteristics

Question 35

Validity: strengths

Answer 35

P: High internal validity

Ex: highly controlled with an IV and DV

Evid: High control throughout exp – car crash clips, length of clips, questions asked etc. meant that L&P could be sure that they were measuring what they intended to measure

Question 36

Validity: weaknesses

Answer 36

P: Low external validity – in particular ecological validity

Ex: not applicable to real life

Evid: The car crashes were watched in artificial environm. = lack realism – it is highly unlikely that any1 would watch a car crash like that IRL - p’s may also have worked out aim especially in experiment 2 so there could be demand characteristics

Question 37

Reliability: strengths

Answer 37

P: Internal reliability is increased as a standardised procedure is used.

Ex: This is because each participant is measured in the same way/given the same instructions/same task. Therefore, reducing how differences may affect the D.V.

Evid: All participant watched the same 7 film clips
- All participants were asked the same questions apart from the critical question

Question 38

Sampling bias: weakness

Answer 38

P: The Sample is bias as all the participants used were from a certain group and of a similar age.

E: Therefore the findings cannot be generalise to other age groups.

E: Students are younger so are less likely to be drivers so their ability at estimating speeds may be worse than the general population.

Question 39

Ethnocentrism: weakness

Answer 39

P: Only studied American students

Ex: based on only one culture – individualistic

Evid: The interpretation of the verbs may be different in other cultures.

E.g. Brit. culture we may think verb ‘hit’ = quite powerful verb + this may = higher mean speed estimate whereas in American culture it was 2nd slowest speed estimate.

• Means it’s difficult to generalise these findings to other countries because of differences in the meanings + use of language.

Question 40

Answe format to follow for key area questions:

Answer 40

1. Principle/Assumption
2. Aim
3. Findings
4. Link

Question 41

Key area question: model answer -

1. Principle/Assumption
2. Aim
3. Findings
4. Link

Answer 41

1. Assumption: The cognitive area looks at mental processes as key to understanding human behaviour. The mind can be seen as an information processor it’s important to consider the input, processing and output of information.
2. Aim: Loftus and Palmer wanted to see the effect leading questions had on the memory of an event. Specifically if changing a word within a question could have an effect on the answer given – in regard to speed estimates or reporting of broken glass.
3. Findings: Participants who received the verb ‘smashed’ in the critical speed estimate question gave a higher mean average speed (40.5mph) than participants that received the verb ‘contacted’ in the same question (31.8 mph).

4.Link: This showed that data input after an incident is witnessed can interfere with the processing and output, what the witness reports.

Question 42

Answer format to Key Theme question: Memory -

Answer 42

1. define
2. Aims
3. findings(or conclusion)/procedure
4. link

Question 43

Key theme question - model answer:

1. define
2. Aims
3. findings/procedure
4. link

Answer 43

1. Def: ability to remember something from the past
2. Aim: Loftus and Palmer wanted to see the effect leading questions had on the memory of an event. Specifically if changing a word within a question could have an effect on the answer given – in regard to speed estimates or reporting of broken glass.
3. findings-Participants who received the verb ‘smashed’ in the critical speed estimate question gave a higher mean average speed (40.5mph) than participants that received the verb ‘contacted’ in the same question (31.8 mph).

procedure- Loftus and Palmer asked people to estimate the speed of motor vehicles using different forms of questions after they had observed a car accident.

4. This shows that memory of an incident can be affected by the information received after the event- i.e. the wording of questions. This therefore links to the key theme of memory as it demonstrates how unreliable it can be.