Loftus and Palmer - Cognitive area Flashcards
What is an Eye witness testimony? (3 BPs)
What term?
Refers to what?
Some people may?
BACKGROUND
- It is a legal term
- It refers to an account given by the people of an event they have witnessed
- Some may have to give a description of a robbery or road accident
Why is EWT so important in law? (2 BPs)
BACKGROUND
- Juries tend to pay close attention to EWT
- They find it to be a reliable source of information
What are psychological factors that can affect EWT? (4 BPs)
BACKGROUND
- Anxiety/Stress
- Reconstructive memory
- Weapon focus
- Leading questions (L+P)
What is reconstructive memory (3 BPs) Bartlett
What does he believe that memory is not like?
What does it not faithfully do?
How does it change memory?
BACKGROUND
- Bartlett believes that the memory is not like a tape recorder
- It doesn’t faithfully play back our experiences
- It changes or reconstructs them imaginatively
Are our memories accurate?
BACKGROUND
- No, memories are not accurate
What are leading questions? (2 BPs)
What affect can it have on a person?
BACKGROUND
- A question that prompts or encourages the answer wanted
- The way a person is questioned can affect how they recall events/memories
What was the aim of the first experiment?
AIM
The aim of the first experiment was to investigate the accuracy of memory and, in paticular, the effect of leading questions on what people remember
What was the aim of the second experiment?
AIM
The aim of the second experiment was to see if the leading questions changed a person’s memory of the event they witnessed
What experimental method was used?
RESEARCH METHOD
laboratory experiment
What was the experimental design used?
Independent measures design
What was the first experiment? (Snapshot or Longitudinal?)
RESEARCH METHOD
- Snapshot
What was the second experiment? (Snapshot or Longitudinal)
RESEARCH METHOD
- Longitudinal
What was the IV for the first experiment? (2)
- IV - the wording of the critical question hidden in a questionnaire
- ‘About how fast were the cars going when they hit / smashed / collided / contacted / bumped into each other?
What was the DV in the first experiment?
Speed estimate in mph
What was the IV in the second experiment? (5)
- The wording on a question in the questionnaire
- ‘About how fast were the cars going when they ____ into each other?
- Group 1: Smashed
- Group 2: Hit
- Control: No question about speed
What was the DV in the second experiment?
Whether the participants responded with YES/NO to the critical question
After how long were the participants asked the critical question in experiment two?
RESEARCH METHOD
- 1 week
What was the critical question in experiment two?
RESEARCH METHOD
Did you see any broken glass? YES/NO
What university was this experiment conducted in?
SAMPLE
- University of Washington
How many participants were in experiment one? (2)
SAMPLE
- 45 students
- divided into 5 groups with 9 participants in each group
How many participants were in experiment two? (2)
SAMPLE
- 150 students
- divided into 3 groups with 50 participats in each group
What sampling technique was used?
ST
Opportunity sampling - students free and readily available
How many clips were P’s shown? (2)
EXP 1 PROCEDURE
- 7 clips of different traffic accidents
- Originally apart of a driver saftey film
What happened after the clips were shown? (3)
EXP 1 PROCEDURE
- Participants were given a questionnaire
- The questionnaire asked them to describe the accident
- Asked them to answer a series of questions about the accident
What was the critical question in the questionnaire?
EXP 1 PROCEDURE
About how fast were the cars going when they ___ (smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted’ each other
How long was the film and what did it contain? (2)
EXP 2 PROCEDURE
- 1 minute film
- Contained a 4-second multiple car crash
After P’s watched the film, what happened?
EXP 2 PROCEDURE
P’s given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and answer a set of questions about the incident
What was the critical question? (4)
EXP 2 PROCEDURE
- About how fast were the cars going when they __ into each other
- Group 1: Smashed
- Group 2: Hit
- Control: Not asked about speed
What happened one week later? (2)
EXP 2 PROCEDURE
- P’s, without seeing the film again
- Completed another questionnaire about the accident which contained the further critical question
What was the critical question? (2)
EXP 2 PROCEDURE
- Did you see any broken glass - Yes/No?
- There had been no broken glass
What was the critical question? (2)
EXP 2 PROCEDURE
- Did you see any broken glass - Yes/No?
- There had been no broken glass
What was the mean speed estimate for the verb smashed?
EXP 1 RESULTS
40.5
What was the mean speed estimate for the verb collided?
EXP 1 RESULTS
- 39.3
What was the mean speed estimate for the verb bumped?
EXP 1 RESULTS
38.1
What was the mean speed estimate for the verb hit?
EXP 1 RESULTS
34.0
What was the mean speed estimate for the verb contacted?
EXP 1 RESULTS
31.8
What verb produced the highest estimate?
EXP 1 RESULTS
Smashed
What was the film of a crash at 20mph estimated to be?
EXP 1 RESULTS
37.7
What was the film of a crash at 30mph estimated to be?
EXP 1 RESULTS
36.3
What was the film of a crash at 40mph estimated to be? (2)
EXP 1 RESULTS
39.7 and 36.1
How many people in the smashed condition reported seeing glass?
EXP 2 RESULTS
16
How many people in the hit condition reported seeing glass?
EXP 2 RESULTS
7
How many people in the control condition reported seeing glass?
EXP 2 RESULTS
- 6
Does a verb influence participant response?
CONCLUSIONS
The verb used in a question influences a participant’s response ie the way a question is phrased influences the answer given
Are people good at judging vehicular speed?
CONCLUSIONS
- No
- People are not very good at judging vehicular speed
Can post event information distort an individual’s memory? (2 BPs)
CONCLUSIONS
- Yes
- Misleading post event information can distort an individual’s memory
