Memory-Misleading Info Flashcards
Leading questions
Key study: Loftus and Palmer (1974)
Procedure
45 students.. Shown 7 films of different traffic accidents… given questionnaire asking to describe the accident… 1 critical question “how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”… The verb “hit” would be changed with other verbs: smashes, collided, bumped or contacted… The critical question would be the leading question suggesting the answer Ppts might give
Findings-
speed estimates of “smashed”
Speed estimate of “contacted”
Smashed=40.8 mean speed estimate
Contacted= 31.8 mean speed estimate
Loftus and Palmer-(1974) experiment 2
Test if leading question may bias a Ppts response or may actually cause info to be altered before it is store
New set of ppts-groups of 3-watched accident video
How long after were they asked a questionnaire with how may questions?
What was the critical question?
What was there none of in the accident?
Was was found
1 week later with 10 questions
“Did you see any broken glass?”
No broke glass 🚫
Leading not questions did change actual memory Ppts had
Post-event discussion-
Definition?
conformity effect-gabbert 2003
Ppts in pair= shown diff vids of same even but each had unique items
What happens in one condition?
Result
Conversation between whiteness/interviews with eyewitness after a crime has taken place which may contaminate whiteness memory for the event
Pairs encouraged to discuss the event before individual recall
71% of those who discussed event prior to recall answered items which had been acquired during discussion
Repeat interviewing
Interviewer comments could become part of ppts memory
> issue for children = leading questions
Larooy al. (2005)
Repeat interviewing
Interviewer comments could become part of ppts memory
> issue for children = leading questions
Larooy et al. (2005)
Evaluation-
Research support-
Brain (2002)
College Ppts had been to Disneyland
Asked to evaluate ad info on Disneyland
Some were given fake information on Bug bunny and Ariel (these characters were not there at the time of childhood)
Participant in the Bugs Bunny and Ariel group report shaking their hand (false memory)
What does this show?
Misleading information can create an inaccurate memory
Evaluation-EWT in real life
Lab study and not real life-
Ppts may not take experiments seriously such as that carried out by Loftus due to no emotional arousal in the way of a real accident would
Evaluation-WWT in real life
Lab study and not real life-
Ppts may not take experiments seriously such as that carried out by Loftus due to no emotional arousal in the way of a real accident would
Evaluation-
What did Yullie and Cutshall (1986) discover…
What had no effect on recall
Evidence for greater accuracy in real life where witnesses to an armed robbery in Canada have very accurate reports of crime (4 months after)
Misleading questions
