Describe: Classic Study: Loftus and Palmer's ROAD
EXPERIMENT 2: Results
Smashed:yes:16 ;Smashed:no:34; Hit:yes:7; Hit:no:43; Control:yes:6; Control:no:44
EXPERIMENT 1: Results
Smashed= mean estimate of speed: 40.8mph; Contacted= 31.8mph
EXPERIMENT 1: How were they split?
Split into 5 groups with 9 participants in each
EXPERIMENT 2: participants?
150 student participants were shown a short film that showed a multi- vehicle accident and then they asked questions about it
EXPERIMENT 1: Participants?
45 participants were shown short video clips
EXPERIMENT 2: One week later they were asked...
Did you see any broken glass?
EXPERIMENT 2: Two kinds of information were suggested by Loftus and Palmer to go into a person's memory for an event...
Firstly, the person's own perception, and secondly, information supplied after the event (e.g. leading questions).
EXPERIMENT 2: Group 1 were asked...
How fast were the cars going when they 'hit' each other?
EXPERIMENT 2: Group 2 were asked...
How fast were the cars going when they 'smashed' each other?
EXPERIMENT 1: What were the participants asked?
How fast were the cars going when they...each other?
EXPERIMENT 1: conclusions
How the question was phrased influenced the participants mean speed estimates; When the verb 'smashed' was used, participants estimated that the cars were travelling much faster than when the verb 'contacted' was used.
EXPERIMENT 2: How were the participants split up?
Participants were split into 3 groups of 50 each..
What does ROAD stand for? and what date?
Reconstruction of automobile destruction, 1974
Explanations for the results of experiment 1
Response bias: The different speed estimates occurred because the critical word (e.g. 'smashed' or 'hit') influences or biases a person's response; Memory is altered: The critical word changes a person's memory so they actually 'see' the accident differently, i.e. more or less severe.
Explanations for experiment 2:
Results showed again that the way the question was asked and phrased influence the answer given: Not due to response bias, as all pp's were asked if they'd seen any broken glass- leading question had actually altered the participant's memory of the event.
Dependent variable
The estimate of speed or whether the participants saw broken glass
Aim?
To investigate how information provided to a witness after an event will influence their memory of that event
Method
Two laboratory experiments; independent measures
Independent variable
Verb used