Loftus and Palmer: Memory (Cognitive) Flashcards

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1
Q

When was Loftus and Palmer’s study published?

A

1974

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2
Q

What theories was Loftus and Palmer’s study based on?

A

-Schema theory proposes that memory is influenced by what an individual already knows. Loftus and Palmer wanted to investigate the reconstructive nature of memory

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3
Q

What was the background to Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-Memory involves interpreting what is seen/heard, recording bits, and reconstructing this information into memories, implying recall can be distorted or biased.
-Loftus and Palmer conducted studies investigating ways memory was distorted to show how unreliable eyewitness testimonies are.
-Study focuses on ‘leading questions’

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4
Q

What was the research method and design in each experiment?

A

Lab experiment and independent measures design for both.

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5
Q

What was the IV and DV in experiment 1?

A

IV was the critical verb in the question: how fast were the cars going when they hit/smashed/collided/contacted/bumped each other?
DV was the estimated speed given by the participants

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6
Q

What was the IV and DV in experiment 2?

A

IV was the wording on a question in the questions: how fast were the cars going when they smashed/hit each other? and another group was not asked about speed.
The DV was whether they reported seeing glass when asked a week later.

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7
Q

What was the sample for experiment 1 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

45 students were divided into 5 groups with 9 participants in each. No age, gender, or sampling method recorded

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8
Q

What was the sample of experiment 2 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

150 students were divided into 3 groups with 50 in each. No age, gender, or sampling method recorded.

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9
Q

What was the procedure for experiment 1 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-All participants shown the same 7 film clips of different traffic accidents which were originally made as part of a driver safety film
-After each clip particpants were given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and then answer questions about the accident
-Critical question: “about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”
-Other critical verbs were smashed, collided, contacted, or bumped

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10
Q

What was the procedure for experiment 2 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-All participants shown a 1 minute film which contained a four second multiple car crash
-Then given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and answer questions on it.
-Critical question: “about how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”. Another group asked with “hit” as the critical verb and another group not asked about speed
-One week later, all participants completed another questionniare without seeing the clip again with the critical question “did you see any broken glass - Yes/No?” when there was no broken glass in the original film

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11
Q

What were the results for experiment 1 of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

Mean speed estimates (mph) were as follows: 40.5 for smashed; 39.3 for collided; 38.1 for bumped; 34.0 for hit; and 31.8 for contacted. Smashed produced the fastest speed estimates and contacted the slowest
-Film with crash at 20mph estimated to be 37.7mph, 30mph estimated 26.2mph, and 40mph estimated to be 39.7mph and 36.1mph. So we are generally poor at estimating speed.

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12
Q

What were the results for experiment 2 of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-16 participants in the ‘smashed’ condition and 7 in the ‘hit’ condition and 6 in the control group reported seeing broken glass
-The majority of people correctly recalled that they had not seen any broken glass

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13
Q

What conclusions can be drawn from Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-Response bias. When a participant is unclear what speed to estimate, the verb gives them a clue as to whether they should estimate low or high
-Memory distortion. The verb used in the question actually alters a participant’s memory of the crash
-There are two kinds of information in our memory for a ‘complex occurrence’: information from the perception of the original event and post-event information. These integrate over time and become indistinguishable

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14
Q

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research method in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-highly controlled environment, precise timings of films, inclusions of fillers eliminated many extraneous variables
-Thus researchers can be confident it was the IV affecting the DV
-Lacks realism (environment and task)
-Watching a film is not the same experience as witnessing a real event
-Would experience more intense emotions which are known to affect memory
-Witnesses to a real crash would also have more motive to recall accurately (genuine consequences)

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15
Q

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the types of data collected in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-Quantitative so easy comparison between conditions
-No opportunity for participants to comment either on what they remembered, or on their experience of being questioned in this way.

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16
Q

What ethical considerations are there for Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-Minimal ethical issues
-Participants may have experienced real car crashes which would likely be traumatising
-Participants were students so they may have felt obliged to participate
-Therefore, informed consent may have not been genuine

17
Q

Can Loftus and Palmer’s experiment be considered valid?

A

-High levels of control so few extraneous variables. For example, filler questions reduced the chance of participants working out the aim
-Some films were real accidents making the context more realistic
-Lack of realism (task and environment)
-Some people may have worked out the aim (esp. in experiment 2)
-More relaxed and less motivated to remember details than a real life situation
-Real life crash would involved more emotions which may make it more or less memorable

18
Q

Can Loftus and Palmer’s study be considered reliable?

A

-Highly standardised (eg. length of films) so internal reliability
-Similar results were found for speed estimates with the verbs ‘smashed’ and ‘hit’ in experiments 1 and 2 so more likely to have external reliability

19
Q

Was there any sampling bias in Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

-All students so unlikely to be representative of the population
-Likely to have been predominantly white, middle class, and within a narrow age range
-Students more vulnerable to demand characteristics
-Students so more used to taking information in and being tested on it
-Participants less likely to be drivers than the population as a whole and speed estimates may therefore be less accurate

20
Q

Can Loftus and Palmer be considered ethnocentric?

A

-University of Washington so bias towards American culture
-International students
-Assumes legal systems are identical to America in other countries
-However, there is the argument that all brains are the work the same, no matter the culture

21
Q

What are the practical application of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

A

Important in helping authorities to understand how to question witnesses to important events such as accidents and crimes. This is likely to have improved the rate of successful criminal convictions.