Aim:To investigate how information supplied after an event, influences a witness's memory for that event.
Study 1:lab + independent measures design. IV: how fast were the cars going when they hit/collided/smashed/contacted/bumped? DV estimated speed in mph 45 American students in 5 groups of 9, Self-selected sample advertised at he university could potentially earn course credit.shown the same 7 film clips of different traffic accidents , they were then asked the critical question About how fast were the cars going when they **** each other?” * the verb of that condition.
Smashed produced the fastest speed estimates and contacted the slowest
study 2- lab + independent measures design,150 students in 3 groups 50 per group,
one-minute film which contained a 4-second multiple car crash, they were asked how fast were the cars going when they Smashed/hit? 3rd condition was asked without a speed,
1 week later they were asked Did you see any broken glass – Yes/No? there was no broken glass,
Saw broken glass: Smashed: 16 Hit: 7 Control: 6
Did not see broken glass: Smashed: 34 Hit: 43 Control: 44
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Loftus and Palmer
Background:
Schema theory proposes that memory is influenced by what an individual already knows, and that they use past experiences to deal with a new experience.
Conclusions
The verb used in a question influences a participant’s response i.e. the way a question is phrased influences the answer given.
People are not very good at judging vehicular speed.
Misleading post event information can distort an individual’s memory.
It is proposed that two kinds of information go into our memory for a ‘complex occurrence’ such as this. Firstly, the information gleaned during the perception of the original event. Secondly, the post-event information that is gained after the fact. Information from the two sources will integrate over time and we will be unable to decipher which source the information comes from. We are therefore unable to tell whether our memory is accurate.
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