Loftus and Palmer - 1974

Question 1

What is a leading question?

Answer 1

a question that prompts or encourages the answer wanted

Question 2

What is a schema?

Answer 2

a mental framework that helps organise, process, and store information - they act as filters to perception and recall

Question 3

How might new information change memory?

Answer 3

new information may reshape or distort original memory

Question 4

What is an eye witness testimony?

Answer 4

an account given by people who were witness to an event

Question 5

What factors would affect the accuracy of an eye witness testimony?

Answer 5

• stress
• memory
• transference
• schema errors
• weapon focus

Question 6

What would cause schema errors?

Answer 6

• past experiences
• assumptions
• stereotypes

Question 7

How do leading questions relate to Loftus and Palmer?

Answer 7

They aimed to study the effect of leading questions on recall of memory

Question 8

How do leading questions affect memory?

Answer 8

• introduce new info
• activate incorrect schemas

Question 9

What was the aim?

Answer 9

to investigate how information provided after an event such as the use of leading questions influences a witness’s memory of that event

Question 10

What is the sample?

Answer 10

195 students

Question 11

What are the weaknesses of the sample?

Answer 11

• small = not representative
• lacks population validity
• age bias (all students)
• students may have fresher driving experience (newly qualified) = more aware and cautious driving

Question 12

What is the method?

Answer 12

lab experiment

Question 13

What are the strengths of the method?

Answer 13

• high control - less impact of EVs
• standardisation = more reliable
• able to establish cause and effect (causality)

Question 14

What are the weaknesses of the method?

Answer 14

• lacks ecological validity (artificial environment)
• more likely to have demand characteristics

Question 15

What was the design?

Answer 15

independent measures

Question 16

What are the strengths of the design?

Answer 16

• controls order effects
• reduced demand characteristics

Question 17

How many experiments were there?

Answer 17

2

Question 18

What was the IV in experiment 1?

Answer 18

the verbs

Question 19

What is the critical question for experiment 1?

Answer 19

‘How fast were the cars going when they hit/smashed/collided/contacted/bumped into each other?’

Question 20

What was the DV in experiment 1?

Answer 20

the estimated speed of the cars

Question 21

What was the sample in experiment 1?

Answer 21

45 students from Washington University

Question 22

What is a weakness of this sample from experiment 1?

Answer 22

culture bias

Question 23

What were the materials for experiment 1?

Answer 23

• 7 film clips (same ones for each participant)
• questionnaire

Question 24

How many of the clips were staged?

Answer 24

4/7

Question 25

What were the clips of?

Answer 25

car crashes

Question 26

What were the range of speeds of the cars in the clips?

Answer 26

1 clip = 20mph 1 clip = 30mph 2 clips = 40mph

Question 27

How many different conditions of the IV were there?

Answer 27

5

Question 28

What were the 5 verbs?

Answer 28

hit, smashed, collided, contacted, bumped

Question 29

How many participants were in each condition of the IV?

Answer 29

9 per condition

Question 30

How long did the experiment last?

Answer 30

1 hour 30 mins

Question 31

How frequent were the questionnaires?

Answer 31

after each clip

Question 32

What did the questionnaires require?

Answer 32

asked to describe the accident and then a presented with a series of questions

Question 33

How did researchers avoid order effects in both conditions?

Answer 33

counter-balancing

Question 34

What was the mean estimate of the speed when the verb 'smashed' was used?

Answer 34

40.5

Question 35

What was the mean estimate of the speed when the verb 'collided' was used?

Answer 35

39.3

Question 36

What was the mean estimate of the speed when the verb 'bumped' was used?

Answer 36

38.1

Question 37

What was the mean estimate of the speed when the verb 'hit' was used?

Answer 37

34.0

Question 38

What was the mean estimate of the speed when the verb 'contacted' was used?

Answer 38

31.8

Question 39

What was the IV in experiment 2?

Answer 39

the wording of the question in the questionnaire

Question 40

What were the 3 conditions of the IV?

Answer 40

- hit - smashed - no speed

Question 41

What was the DV in experiment 2?

Answer 41

whether or not participants saw broken glass (Yes/No)

Question 42

What is the sample in experiment 2?

Answer 42

150 students

Question 43

How many participants were in each condition of the IV?

Answer 43

50

Question 44

What were the materials for experiment 2?

Answer 44

- 1 minute film clip (4 second multi-car crash) - questionnaire

Question 45

What did the questionnaire ask?

Answer 45

to describe accident and then a series of questions

Question 46

What was the critical question in experiment 2?

Answer 46

About how fast were the cars going when they smashed/hit each other?

Question 47

What happened one week after the study in experiment 2?

Answer 47

a follow up critical question

Question 48

What was the follow up critical question in experiment 2?

Answer 48

'Did you see any broken glass?'

Question 49

How many participants responded 'yes' when asked about the broken glass in the 'smashed' condition?

Answer 49

16

Question 50

How many participants responded 'yes' when asked about the broken glass in the 'hit' condition?

Answer 50

7

Question 51

How many participants responded 'yes' when asked about the broken glass in the control condition?

Answer 51

6

Question 52

How many participants responded 'no' when asked about the broken glass in the 'smashed' condition?

Answer 52

34

Question 53

How many participants responded 'no' when asked about the broken glass in the 'hit' condition?

Answer 53

43

Question 54

How many participants responded 'no' when asked about the broken glass in the control condition?

Answer 54

44

Question 55

What type of data was gathered in this study?

Answer 55

quantitative

Question 56

What are the strengths of this type of data?

Answer 56

- objective - easier to analyse and compare

Question 57

What are the weaknesses of this type of data?

Answer 57

- cannot establish the reasoning behind behaviours - limits usefulness

Question 58

What was a control for both experiments?

Answer 58

counterbalancing

Question 59

What are some weaknesses of the results?

Answer 59

- response bias - memory distortion

Question 60

What is a response bias?

Answer 60

When participants are unclear what speed to estimate so the verb gives a clue on whether to estimate high or low

Question 61

What are the practical applications of this study?

Answer 61

- authorities - helps improve rate of successful crime convictions

Question 62

What are the conclusions of this study?

Answer 62

- the way which questions are phrased can affect the way events are remembered - wording of memory can distort memory