Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

The aim of the research was to investigate whether the use of leading questions would affect the estimation of speed

Question 2

IV & DV

Answer 2

IV = Intensity of the verb used in the critical question

DV = Estimate of speed

Question 3

Sample. Procedure & Design

Answer 3

Students participated in the experiment and were divided into 5 groups. Each participant was shown 7 films of traffic accidents (meaning independent samples design).

When the participants finished a film, they were then asked to give an account of the accident they had just seen by answering a questionnaire with different questions on the accident with one question being the critical question where they were asked to estimate the speed of the cards. They were all asked this critical question but the verb had different intensities for different groups (for example “hit”, “contacted”, “smashed”).

Question 4

Results and explanation

Answer 4

The mean estimates of speed were highest in the “smashed” condition and lowest in the “contacted” group.

Participants may have forgotten details of the experiment and the intesity of the verb influenced participants’ memory of the accident. The use of more intense verbs like “smashed” suggested a higher level of force and impact, leading participants to reconstruct their memory of the accident to align with the schema associated with the suggestive verb.

Question 5

Evaluation

Answer 5

Laboratory setting means low ecological validity

Laboratory setting also means high internal validity because variables are very controlled.