the cognitive area Flashcards
THE CLASSICAL STUDY
LOFTUS AND PALMER
what was the background to loftus and palmers study?
the debate of whether eyewitness testimonies are a reliable source of information, particularly when it comes to the justice system
what is a schema?
a block of information based on knowledge and past experiences
what did loftus and palmer believe about eyewitness testimonies?
they are unreliable, and with the addition of leading questions and/or misinformation they have the ability to distort original memory
what was loftus and palmer’s aims?
the aim of the first experiment was to investigate the accuracy of EWT, in particular, the effect of leading questions on what people can remember
the aim of the second experiment was to see if the leading question changed a person’s subsequent memory of the event they have witnessed (reliability)
what was loftus and palmer’s research method?
lab experiment
what was loftus and palmer’s experimental design?
IMD
what was loftus and palmer’s sampling method?
the same part i
what was loftus and palmer’s sample in both experiment one and two?
EXP1
45 psychology students
9 in each of the 5 IV conditions (smashed, hit, contacted, collided and bumped)
DV was the speed estimates
EXP2
150 psychology students
50 in each of the 3 IV conditions (smashed, hit or control group)
DV was whether or not they recall seeing glass
what happened in experiment 1?
- participants viewed same 7 (3 real, 4 were staged) video clips of car accidents originally made as part of a driver safety film (between 5 and 30 secs in duration)
- after each clip, asked to complete a questionnaire: they were asked to give an account of the accident, which consisted of a series of questions and a critical question
critical question, ‘about how fast were the cars going when they ____________ into each other?’
what happened in experiment 2?
all viewed same 1 minute film showing a 4 multiple-car crash pile up, they were then given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and answer a set of questions, there was a critical question about speed:
‘About how fast were the cars going when they _________ into each
other?’
conditions: smashed, hit and no verb (control)
a week later, all participants, without seeing the film again, completed another questionnaire about the accident which
contained the further critical question, “Did you see any broken
glass – Yes/No?”
what were the results of experiment 1?
smashed 40.8 seconds
collided
bumped
hit
contacted 31.8 seconds
what were the results of experiment 2?
those who got the verb ‘smashed’
yes = 16
no = 34
those who got the very ‘no’
yes = 7
no = 43
the control group
yes = 6
no = 44
what were the conclusions of experiment 1?
- difficult to estimate speed accurately so a more serious sounding verb makes people estimate higher
- “smashed” is the most severe verb which biased the P’s response and influenced them to give a higher speed estimate (mph) compared with the least severe verb
“contacted”, therefore, leading Q’s can distort a person’s memory at the time of an event
what were the conclusions of experiment 2?
- misleading post event information can distort an individual’s memory
what is a strength of loftus and palmer’s validity?
high levels of control (internal validity)
= control over extraneous variables
= highly scientific
= measures what it intends to
what is a weakness of loftus and palmer’s validity?
low in ecological validity
= lab experiment
= artificial task (video clips)
= not reflective of how real life memory is portrayed
how is loftus and palmer’s study high in reliability?
the standardised procedure of the video clips
= EXP1 seven video clips
= EXP2 1 minute film clip with 4 car crashes
= repeatable procedure able to be replicated
was loftus and palmers sample biased? strengths and weaknesses?
STRENGTH
- 150 in sample 2, fairly big sample
= representative if wider target population
WEAKNESSES
- 45 in sample 1, not as representative
what were the strengths ethically of loftus and palmers study?
- informed consent was given
- both brief and debrief
what were the weakness of loftus and palmers research ethically?
car crashes have the ability to be psychologically harmful and distressing
