Loftus & Palmer Flashcards
Which area of psychology does Loftus & Palmer belong to?
Cognitive psychology
Which theory did Loftus & Palmer try to prove?
Reconstructive Memory - Bartlett: memory is not a direct record of what was witnessed.
What is a schema?
A mental representation of the world around us, built on expectations/experience.
What are the research methods?
Lab experiment, independent measures design
What is the sample of experiment 1?
45 students, from USA
What were the IV’s of experiment 1?
‘Critical verbs’ - hit, contacted, smashed, bumped, collided.
What was the DV of experiment 1?
An estimation of the speed of the cars when they crashed, ‘How fast were the cars going when they…(critical verb)?’
What was the sample of experiment 2?
150 students, from USA, split into 3 groups.
What were the IV’s of experiment 2?
Smashed, hit
What was the DV of experiment 2?
‘Was there any broken glass, when the cars…smashed/hit?’
What is eyewitness testimony?
Witnesses to crimes filter information during acquisition and recall, distortion may occur without the witness realising (confabulation -honest lying).
How was self-report used during experiment 1?
Each participant received a questionnaire after each film they watched, they were then asked to answer a series of specific questions about the accident.
What was the procedure of experiment 1?
Sample shown same 7 film clips of traffic accidents, questionnaire to describe the accident and answer a series of questions (including critical question)
What was the procedure of experiment 2?
Sample shown 1 minute film of traffic accident, questionnaire completed with the same critical question and asked if they saw any broken glass
What were some conclusions?
- Verb influences response
- People struggle judging vehicular speed
- Misleading information post-event can distort memories
- Unable to tell whether memories are accurate
