Loftus & Palmer Flashcards
What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer?
The aim of Loftus and Palmer was to investigate the effect of language (leading questions) on memory
What was the sample of experiment 1?
Sample = 45 American students
—> split into 5 groups of 9
What was the procedure of experiment 1?
- ppt’s watched several road safety videos
- some videos involved car crashes
- ppt’s filled out a questionnaire on what they had seen
What was the critical question of experiment 1?
‘About how fast were the cars going when they xxxxx each other?’
What was the IV of experiment 1?
The IV were the 5 verbs used in the blank spaces : •bumped •contacted •hit •collided •smashed
What was the method and design of experiment 1?
Method = lab experiment Design = independent measures
What was the DV of experiment 1?
The mean number of estimated speed given by the ppt’s
What was the mean speed average for the ‘contacted’ condition?
31.8
What was the mean speed average for the ‘hit’ condition?
34
What was the mean speed average for the ‘smashed’ condition?
40.8
What was the aim of experiment 2?
The aim of experiment 2 was to investigate whether ppt’s in the ‘smashed’ condition were more likely to claim that they saw broken glass in a car accident
What was the sample of experiment 2?
There were 150 students that were split up into 3 groups of 50
What was the procedure of experiment 2?
- ppt’s watched 1 clip of a car crash and given a questionnaire with the critical question
- there were three conditions :
- hit
- smashed
- no critical question
•one week later ppt’s were asked : “Did you see broken glass?”
What were the ppt’s speed estimates in experiment 2 for the smashed and hit groups?
SMASHED = 10.46mph HIT = 8.00mph
These findings were consistent with the last experiment
How many ppt’s claimed to see broken glass?
SMASHED = 16/50 HIT = 7/50 CONTROL = 6/50
What are the research method and design of experiment 2?
Method = lab experiment Design = independent measures
What is the conclusion for experiment 2?
Subsequent information can cause a reconstruction of a persons memory
What is reconstructive memory?
The act of remembering which is influenced by cognitive processes, including perception, imagination, semantic memory and beliefs
Why was counter balancing used in experiment 1?
It reduces order effects so the ppt’s can not predict whats coming
What is meant by ecological validity?
How much the experiment can relate to real-life situations
How is watching a film of a car crash different to watching an accident in real life?
The shock of seeing the crash in real life may contribute to their results being more realistic and valid
What type of research method was used?
Controlled laboratory
What type of data was collected and how was it useful?
Quantitative data was collected and this enabled results to be easily summarised and compared
What can you say about the ethics of the study?
The hypothesis about the leading questions was not revealed to the ppt’s and distracter questions were used to further conceal the exact hypothesis. However the study was conducted ethically because the researchers used clips that they knew could not upset the ppt’s.
How was this study valid?
It was a controlled laboratory experiment which meant that is was high in design validity because the procedure - including the film clips, tasks and questions asked - was standardised
How could this study be invalid?
Ppt’s knew they were in a study and may have tried to affect the outcome. For example, they may have thought they were supposed to remember broken glass, so therefore this may not be a valid demonstration of how leading questions affect memory
Why was this study low in ecological validity?
- It was carried out in the controlled conditions of the laboratory
- Accidents happen spontaneously and our memory of this will be different without the luxury of prior warning
- Our memory of watching film clips of a staged accident will be very different to what it might be under stressful circumstances of an accident involving real people
Can this study be described as reliable?
Yes, because the study uses highly controlled laboratory experiments.
Could this study be replicated and why?
Yes, because the original and subsequent study correlated to see if test-retest reliability could be established
Were the findings of this study reliable?
Yes, because both experiments that were carried out provided evidence that memory can be distorted by information introduced afterwards - in this case, leading questions.
What type of sampling method was used?
Opportunity and volunteer
What was a weakness of the sampling method?
As the ppt’s were students from the same University, results cannot be generalised beyond the sample, and to the wider population
What are some problems with the biasing factors in Loftus and Palmer?
- The study needed a broader sample as the sample used reduces generalisability
- Students represent a narrow age group and the upper levels of family income and educational background
- Students have already displayed a higher cognitive skills required to gain entry to uni so are more compliant to authority than their peers in general
- Students will be more willing to comply with researchers’ requests, especially if studies they participate in form part of their course
