All behaviour is based on Internal Thought Processes in the mind. Pieces of inforamtation stored in the mind combines to make up schemas these influence the way we deal with the world.
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What is the background to Loftus and Palmer's study?
The reconstructive hypothesis- The theory that our memories are comprised of 2 main components 1. information gained at the time of the event 2. information gained after the event.
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Experiment 1- Aim?
To see whether using different verbs to describe a collision between cars would effect the estimates of the speed at which the car was travelling when the crash took place.
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What is a leading question?
A question, that its form or content, suggests to the witness what answer is desired or leads them to a desired answer.
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Experiment 1- Design?
Laboratory experiment using independent groups. IV= type of verb used. DV= estimates of speed in mph
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What were the 5 verbs used?
Smashed, Collided, Bumped, Hit, Contacted
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Experiment 1- who were the participants?
45 students. Divided into 5 groups of 9.
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Experiment 1 procedure-What were the materials used and where were they obtained from?
7 film clips of automobile accidents, from the Seattle police department and the Evergreen Safety council.
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Experiment 1 Procedure- How long were the clips?
Ranged from 5 -30 seconds long, of the 7 clips 4 contained staged crashes. The speeds of these crashes were, 20,30,40,40 mph.
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Experiment 1- what order were the clips in?
They were shown in a randomised order to avoid order effects
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Experiment 1- what were each student given after each clip?
A 2-part questionnaire, they had to; give an account of what they had seen, and answer questions including the critical question.
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Experiment 1- What was the critical question?
'How fast were the cars going when it (verb) each other?'
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Experiment 1- What were the key findings? 1/2
1.Participants estimates of speed were not that accurate, the results show that we tend to over-estimate lower speeds and under estimate higher speeds. e.g. when the car was travelling at 20mph the mean estimate was 37.7, for 40 the mean 36.1mph.
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Experiment 1- what were the key findings? 2/2
For the verb smashed the average rating was 40.8 mph and for contacted it was 31.8mph. Simply changing the verb was enough to elicit a 9mp difference between speed estimates.
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Experiment 1- conclusions?
The results could be due to a distortion in ps memory. The memory on how fast the car was going could have been distorted by the verbal label used. The results could have been due to response bias factors- the ps is not sure of the exact speed
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Experiment 2-Aim?
to investigate whether the different speed estimates found in experiment 1 were the result of a distorted memory. This was done by seeing whether ps who heard the words assocciated with high speeds would incorrectly remember broken glass at the site.
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Experiment 2- Design?
Laboratory experiment using independent groups. The IV one of three verbs Hit/Smashed/ No verb.
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Experiment 2- who were the participants?
150 students, 3 groups of 50
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Experiment 2- Procedure 1/2
A 1 minute film was shown which showed a 4 second multiple car accident. Depending on what group they were in they were asked 'how fast were the cars going when they (verb) each other?'. The control weren't asked a question on the speed.
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Experiment 2- Procedure 2/2
A week later they were asked to return and were asked some further questions including the critical question 'Did you see any broken glass?'
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Experiment 2- Key Findings
As in Experiment 1 ps who heard the word smashed estimated a high speed (10.44mph S/ 8.0mph H). Twice as many people incorrectly remembered seeing broken glass having heard smashed in the question. Smashed=16 Hit= 7 Control=6.
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Experiment 2- Conclusions
2 kinds of information go into a persons memory of an even 1. information obtained at the time of the event. 2. information supplied to us after the event. Over time the information of the two sources may become integrated.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
What is the background to Loftus and Palmer's study?
Back
The reconstructive hypothesis- The theory that our memories are comprised of 2 main components 1. information gained at the time of the event 2. information gained after the event.
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