misleading information Flashcards
2 ways that misleading information can conveyed to a witness that might impact their testimony
response bias
Substitution explanation
Substitution explanation
intensity of the verb changed the memory
response bias
researcher’s questions changes the way u respond to the question but not your actual memory
Loftus & Palmer Aim
investigate effect of leading questions on accuracy of eyewitness testimony
Loftus & Palmer method
45 American students – divided in 5 groups of 9
Watched a car crash and asked ab the speed of the cars
Loftus and palmer manipulated the verb used ‘smashed/collided/bumped/hit/ contacted’
Loftus and palmer result
results show that the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affected by leading questions
Loftus and palmer 2nd study
“did you see any broken glass?”
Smashed = 2%
Hit = 14%
Control group = 12%
strength of Loftus and palmer - real world application
E: psychologists are sometimes called experts witnesses in trails
L: therefore psychologists can improve how the legal system works + protect innocents
Counterpoint: foster argued that p’s are less concerned ab responses in labs so EWT may be stronger in real life.
A strength of Loftus & Palmer - lab settings :high control over iv, dv, ev
E: vids were staged – duration and speed could have been controlled which would not have been possible with field/naturalistic study
E: Standardisation and operationalisation = replication of the research
L:therefore increases the internal validity of the findings
limitation of Loftus and palmer - ecological validity
E: participants witnessed the events from start to finish
E: witnesses are normally involved in the accident directly or see small parts – lacks mundane realism
L: therefore results lack ecological validity as they do not reflect everyday car accidents
A limitation of Loftus & Palmer’s study is that there is a lack of population validity
E: consisted of 45 and 150 students from university of Washington
E: students were restricted to a age range – less experienced drivers who may be less accurate at estimating speeds
L: consequently we are unable to generalise the results to other populations
Eg. Older and more experienced drivers, who are not as susceptible to leading questions