Loftus and Palmer: Memory (Cognitive) Flashcards
When was Loftus and Palmer’s study published?
1974
What theories was Loftus and Palmer’s study based on?
-Schema theory proposes that memory is influenced by what an individual already knows. Loftus and Palmer wanted to investigate the reconstructive nature of memory
What was the background to Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-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’
What was the research method and design in each experiment?
Lab experiment and independent measures design for both.
What was the IV and DV in experiment 1?
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
What was the IV and DV in experiment 2?
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.
What was the sample for experiment 1 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
45 students were divided into 5 groups with 9 participants in each. No age, gender, or sampling method recorded
What was the sample of experiment 2 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
150 students were divided into 3 groups with 50 in each. No age, gender, or sampling method recorded.
What was the procedure for experiment 1 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-All participants shown the same 7 film clips of different traffic accidents which were originally made as part of a driver safety film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
What was the procedure for experiment 2 in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-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
What were the results for experiment 1 of Loftus and Palmer’s study?
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.
What were the results for experiment 2 of Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-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
What conclusions can be drawn from Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-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
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research method in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-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)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the types of data collected in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
-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.