Misleading information

Misleading information

1. EWT is affected by post event experiences

   • Mainly misleading info from misleading qns
     • Leading questions
       • Increase chance of schemas influencing recall
     • Post event info
       • Misleading info added to qns
         • Negatively effects recall

2. Loftus and Palmer (1974)

   • 'EWT is unreliable due to misleading qns'
     • 45 ppts watched films of car accidents
       • 'How fast were the cars going when they ... into eachother?'
         • smashed/bumped/collided/hit/contacted
           • Smashed 40.5 mph
             • Contacted 31.8 mph
     • 150 students watch film of car crash with NO broken glass
       • 1/3 asked how fast when they smashed into eachother
         • 1/3 asked how fast when they hit eachother
           • 1/3 no estimate required
             • 12%
           • 14%
         • 1 week later
           • 32% recalled broken glass
     • misleading info =verb used
       • Memories were recalled false
         • Reconstructed with new info
   • Evaluation
     • Well controlled- lab experiments allow all variable to be the same
       • Same stimuli
     • Lack of ecological validity
       • No real life emotions
         • Different sensory factors
     • Demand characteristics as opposed to distorted memory
     • Uni students -not representative sample
       • Tend not to look silly infront of teachers or researchers