Loftus and Palmer Flashcards
Methodology of L&P
Experiment in lab environment
Experimental design of L&P
Independent groups design
IV experiment 1
Verb used in critical Q
IV experiment 2
Verb used in critical Q (smashed/hit)
DV experiment 1
Estimate of speed
DV experiment 2
Whether P stated that they saw broken glass
How many P’s in experiment 1?
45 students
How many P’s in experiment 2?
150 students
In experiment 1 - how many film clips of traffic accidents were the P’s shown?
7
In experiment 1, what was the critical Q?
‘About how fast were the cars going when they _________ each other?’
What were the 5 verbs used in the critical Q?
Smashed, Hit, Bumped, Collided. Contacted
What did P’s watch in experiment 2?
One clip of a multi-vehicle car accident
What were each group of 50 P’s in experiment 2 asked?
50 P’s: how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?
50 P’s: how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?
50 P’s: control - not asked about the speed of the vehicle
In experiment 2, how long was left between asking about the speed and asking the critical Q?
1 week
In experiment 2, what was the critical Q?
Did you see any broken glass?
What was the mean speed estimate for ‘smashed’?
40.8
What was the mean speed estimate for ‘collided’?
39.3
What was the mean speed estimate for ‘bumped’?
38.1
What was the mean speed estimate for ‘hit’?
34.0
What was the mean speed estimate for ‘contacted’?
31.8
How many P’s said ‘yes’ to seeing broken glass in the ‘Smashed’ condition?
16
How many P’s said ‘yes’ to seeing broken glass in the ‘Hit’ condition?
7
How many P’s said ‘yes’ to seeing broken glass in the control condition?
6
How many P’s said ‘no’ to seeing broken glass in the ‘Smashed’ condition?
34
How many P’s said ‘no’ to seeing broken glass in the ‘Hit’ condition?
43
How many P’s said ‘no’ to seeing broken glass in the control condition?
44
What were the conclusions of Experiment 1 of L&P?
- There are 2 possible explanations for the findings of exp 1 - response bias or altered memory
- Response bias = The different speed estimates occurred because the critical word (e.g.’smashed’ or ‘hit’) influenced/biased the P’s response
- Altered memory = the results could be due to the critical word changing the P’s memory so they actually ‘recall’ the accident differently, i.e. more or less severe
- L&P conducted the second experiment to test these conclusions
What were the conclusions of Experiment 2 of L&P?
- The findings support the ‘altered memory’ conclusion from experiment 1
-The leading Q’s used alter the P’s memory of the accident, causing them to recall broken glass when there wasn’t any - The leading Q is combined with the original memory to create a new memory (reconstructive memory).
