Loftus and Palmer's Study

Question 1

What is the background to Loftus and Palmers study?

Answer 1

Impact of leading questions in miscarriages of justice in court cases
Eyewitness testimonies are affected by memory and time
(Could lead to the conviction of an innocent person or release of a guilty person.)

Question 2

What is a leading question?

Answer 2

Questions that increase the likelihood that an individual will influence them to give a desired answer by using their prior experiences (schemas)

Question 3

What is a reconstructive memory?

Answer 3

Memories reconstructed due to information seen.

Question 4

What is schema?

Answer 4

Preconceived prior ideas/experiences/knowledge about a topic

Question 5

What is false memory syndrome?

Answer 5

Incorrect memories reconstructed due to misleading information or leading questions used

Question 6

What was the aim of Loftus and Palmers Study?

Answer 6

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of language on memory (in particular leading questions)

Question 7

Describe the sample used in experiment 1 of the study?

Answer 7

45 Undergraduate Students from the University of Washington, Seattle (split into 5 conditions - 9 in each)

Question 8

What was the research method used?

Answer 8

Laboratory experiment (highly controlled and artificial situation)

Question 9

What data collection method was used?

Answer 9

self-report (participants completed a questionnaire)

Question 10

What was the independent variable for experiment 1?

Answer 10

The verb used in the critical question
‘about how fast were the cars going when they ______ each other?’

-Smashed
-Hit
-Collided
-Contacted
-Bumped

Question 11

What was the dependent variable for experiment 1?

Answer 11

Estimated speed of the vehicles when they hit each other.

Question 12

What was the procedure for experiment 1?

Answer 12

Participants were shown 7 film clips (each 5-30 sec long). 4 of them contained car crashes (order effects reduced by varying order of films)
After each video:
-Asked to “give an account of the accident you have just seen”
-Answer a set of questions relating to the accident (including a speed estimate – the DV)

Question 13

Where was the car crash footage obtained from?

Answer 13

They were safety promotion videos from Seattle Police Dpt, containing staged crashes

Question 14

Why was the self-report method used to obtain data for the cognitive area?

Answer 14

It gives individual perspectives and attempts to find out what people are thinking

Question 15

What type of study design did Loftus and Palmer use?

Answer 15

Independent measures

Question 16

What are the strengths of the sample used in experiment 1?

Answer 16

Independent groups = less order effects

Question 17

What are the weaknesses of the sample used in experiment 1?

Answer 17

More participant variables due to twice the sample size of repeated measures

Question 18

What was the average speed estimate for the ‘Smashed’ condition?

Answer 18

40.5 mph

Question 19

What was the average speed estimate for the ‘Collided’ condition?

Answer 19

39.3 mph

Question 20

What was the average speed estimate for the ‘Bumped’ condition?

Answer 20

38.1 mph

Question 21

What was the average speed estimate for the ‘HIt’ condition?

Answer 21

34.1 mph

Question 22

What was the average speed estimate for the ‘Contacted’ condition?

Answer 22

31.8 mph

Question 23

What are the conclusions from experiment 1 of Loftus and Palmers study?

Answer 23

The more intense verbs led to higher estimates of speed
This suggests that leading questions can affect the accuracy of the memory.

Question 24

Explain the results achieved by loftus and palmer?

Answer 24

Response bias- Participants were not sure whether to say 30 or 40mph but the word in the critical question biases participants to give different speed estimates … smashed !

The verb used caused a change in the participants’ memory for the event so “smashed” leads them to remember the event as being more serious than it was.

Question 25

What was the sample for experiment 2?

Answer 25

Independent measures design was used
150 NEW students
Split into 3 groups of 50

Question 26

What was the aim in experiment 2?

Answer 26

The aim was to see if the participants in the ‘smashed’ condition were more likely to report seeing broken glass when tested a week later compared to the ‘hit’ group and control group.

Question 27

What was the independent variable of experiment 2?

Answer 27

The verb used in the critical question;
‘about how fast were the cars going when they ____ each other?’

Hit
Smashed
Control

Question 28

What was the dependent variable of experiment 2?

Answer 28

Speed estimates
Whether the participant reported seeing broken glass or not

Question 29

What was the procedure of experiment 2?

Answer 29

The procedure for the first part of the study was similar to the last experiment.
Participants watched a single clip (approx. 1 min) of a multiple car crash (accident about 4 seconds long) and were once again given a questionnaire including the critical question on speed.
One group had HIT as the verb in the question.
Another group had SMASHED as the verb in the question.
The control group was NOT asked the critical question.
A week later all participants came back and were all asked a second critical question in amongst a list of 10 questions.
“Did you see any broken glass?” Yes or No
There was no broken glass in the clip.

Question 30

What are the results for speed estimates in experiment 2?

Answer 30

P’s in the ‘smashed’ condition estimated significantly higher speeds (10.46mph) than the ‘hit’ condition (8 mph)
Also significantly more likely to report seeing broken glass than the hit or control conditions
Smashed = 17/50
Hit = 7/50
Control = 6/50

Question 31

What were the conclusions reached at the end of the study?

Answer 31

Evidence of reconstructive memory due to questioning – changing person’s SCHEMA for clip

Question 32

What happens when trying to explain complex situations?

Answer 32

Post event syndrome affects our memory (false memory syndrome)

Question 33

Which ethical guidelines did Loftus and Palmer uphold?

Answer 33

Confidentiality (took place in prestigious University of Washington
Right to Withdraw
Thoroughly debriefed

Question 34

Which ethical guidelines did Loftus and Palmer break?

Answer 34

Deception - lied to the participants by not telling them the aim of the study (smokescreen questions disguised critical question)

Question 35

How could Loftus and Palmers study be viewed as ethnocentric?

Answer 35

Only using university students who are likely to be middle or upper class – therefore other cultures may perform differently.

Also could be ethnocentric due to other cultures (even if English speaking) interpreting the verbs in a different way. Smashed may not be perceived as the most intense verb in other cultures outside the USA

Question 36

Evaluate the internal reliability of Loftus and Palmer’s Study?

Answer 36

Highly replicable procedure as the method was very controlled for all P’s being a lab experiment e.g. same videos (5 - 30 seconds long) and question phrasings
Demand characteristics reduced by showing 7 films

Question 37

Evaluate the external reliability of Loftus and Palmer’s Study?

Answer 37

The 2nd experiment had a large sample with 150 P’s, and also the findings from experiment 2 support (seem consistent with) the results from experiment 1 - which does not have a large enough sample to suggest a consistent effect.

Question 38

Evaluate the internal validity of Loftus and Palmer’s Study?

Answer 38

Reduced order effects by varying order of video clips
Participant variables - interpret words differently
Didn’t understand speed of cars (extraneous variable)

Demand characteristics as the P’s know they are in a study and may answer the questions on speed and broken glass how they think the researcher wants them to or in a room with 9 + 50 other people!!

Question 39

Evaluate the ecological validity of Loftus and Palmer’s Study?

Answer 39

Not a real life situation - video
Likely to be paying more attention to the videos and they also lack the emotional factors found with a real-life accident (plus studies done in a lab setting)

LOW MUNDANE REALISM

Question 40

Evaluate the population validity of Loftus and Palmer’s Study?

Answer 40

The sample is 195 people all white upper/middle class undergraduate students from Uni of Washington
WESTERN CULTURE ISN’T GENERALISABLE