Loftus and Palmer Flashcards
What is a leading question?
A question that suggests what answer is desired or leads to that desired answer.
What was the aim of experiment 1?
to investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of witness memory of a car accident.
what research method was used?
2 x lab experiments
what experimental design was used?
independent measures design
how many ps were used in experiment 1 ?
45 american students, split into 5 groups with 9 ps in each.
what was the IV in exp1?
Verb used
what was the DV in exp1?
estimate of speed
what did ps have to do after watching the short film clip in exp 1?
Write a short account of what they saw then complete a questionnaire
What was the critical question in experiment 1?
“About how fast were the cars going when they _____ each other?
What 5 verbs were used?
smashed, hit, bumped, collided, contacted
what was the mean estimated speed for each of the verbs? (in order)
smashed- 40.8mph
collided-39.3mph
bumped- 38.1mph
hit-34.0mph
contacted-31.8mph
what do the results show?
They show the form of question can have a significant effect on a witness’ answer to the question. (leading questions can affect accuracy of memory)
what 2 explanations did L&P give for this result?
1- response bias factors
2-memory representation is altered.
Response-bias factors
the diff speed estimates occurred because the critical word influences/ biases a person’s response. (form of demand characteristic)
Memory distortion
the critical word actually alters a persons memory so they actually ‘see’ the accident differently. (more of less severe)
What did experiment 2 want to test?
If memory distortion causes ps to remember other details that are not true and did not happen.
What was the aim of experiment 2?
to investigate if results in exp 1 were due to memory distortion. This was done by seeing whether ps who heard the words allocated w high speed estimates would be more likely to incorrectly recall seeing broken glass.
What research method was used in exp2?
Lab experiments
What experimental design was used in exp2?
Independent measures design.
How many ps were used in exp2?
150 american students, split into 3 groups of 50.
what was the first group asked in exp2?
“how fast were the cars going when they HIT each other?”
what was the second group asked in exp2?
“how fast were the cars going when they SMASHED each other?”
what was the third group in exp2?
a control group, they were not asked a critical question.
what was the IV in exp2 ?
verb used in question
what was the DV in exp2 ?
ps response to seeing broken glass or not.
how long did the ps have before they returned and were asked if they saw broken glass?
one week later
how many ps responded “yes” to seeing broken glass with the verb SMASHED?
16 ps
how many responded NOT seeing broken glass with the verb SMASHED?
34 ps
how many ps responded “yes” to seeing broken glass with the verb HIT?
7 ps
how many did NOT recall seeing broken glass with the verb HIT?
43 ps
how many ps recall seeing broken glass with control condition?
6
how many do NOT recall seeing broken glass in the control condition?
44
what do the results in exp2 show?
Ps were more likely to remember seeing broken glass if the verb was “smashed” in the critical question.
what 2 kinds of info go into our memory of an event?
1- ones own perception at the time of the event. (ps watching car crashes)
2- external info supplied after the event (e.g leading questions)
overtime info from both sources is MERGDED- unable to tell from which source some specific detail is recalled- only have one memory.
is it possible to distort someones memory of an event through leading questions?
Yes (info from both sources integrated so unable to tell which source some detail is recalled from- is all one memory)
