Loftus & Palmer

Question 1

Sample (experiment 1)

Answer 1

—> 45 students, 5 conditions, 9 in each condition

5 conditions - verb used in leading question

Contacted, hit bumped, collided or smashed

Question 2

PROCEDURE experiment 1:

Answer 2

-laboratory experiment, independent measures
-used 7 clips from safety promotion films
(4 had staged crashes, speed of vehicle when crashing recorded)
-given a questionnaire after each clip
(Had to give an account of what they just saw, and answer some questions about it.
- IV manipulated by changing the verb in critical question
(“How fast were the cars going when they […] each other?”, DV was the speed given in MPH

Question 3

RESULTS experiment 1

Answer 3

• Film 1 (Actual: 20 MPH): Estimated 37.7 MPH
• Film 2 (Actual: 30 MPH): Estimated 36.2 MPH
• Film 3 (Actual: 40 MPH): Estimated 39.7 MPH
• Film 4 (Actual: 40 MPH): Estimated 36.1 MPH

Impact of Verb Usage on Speed Estimation:

•	Smashed: 40.8 MPH
•	Collided: 39.3 MPH
•	Bumped: 38.1 MPH
•	Hit: 34.0 MPH
•	Contacted: 31.8 MPH

Question 4

Conclusions

Answer 4

-the questions asked subsequent to an event can cause a reconstruction in one’s memory of that event
-the verb used in a question can affect the speed a witness estimates a vechical
To have been travelling at and also whether they recall having seen any broken glass

Question 5

Strengths

Answer 5

-reliability, easily controlled and standardised
-quantitative data can be easily summarised
-no gruesome images shown meaning they should not of upset participants or cause them harm
-memory process is not ethnocentric as it is species specific

Question 6

Weakness

Answer 6

-low in ecological validity, as it is a laboratory experiment
-generalisability low as the sample was all students, could be university students, which would be the target population of everyone. Their cognitive process could work differently