Loftus & Palmer

Loftus & Palmer

1. Aim

   • To investigate how information supplied after an event influences a witness's memory
   • The study focuses on the effects of language on memory changes.
   • types of information that affect our memory of an event
     • a) information gained after the event
     • b) information gained after the event and subsewuent information

2. Method

   • Two lab experiments were conducted with an independent groups design.
     • The IV in each experiment was the verb used.
     • The DV changed for each experiment
       • In experiment 1 the participant's estimate the speed
       • In experiment 2 how many saw glass

3. Experiment one

   • 45 students from the univeristy of washington
   • procedure
     • seven film clips of car crashes range from 5-15 seconds
       • 4 of the 7 contain staged crashes
       • different film order to each group
     • the participents where asked 2 questions after watching each clip
       • To write an account of what they had just saw
       • to answer some questions. one being the critical question
         • ' About how fast were the cars going when they____each other?'
           • smashed
           • collided
           • bumbed
           • hit
           • contact
   • 90 minuets
   • Results
     • smashed result in the highest speed estmate, that implies that the verb was having an effect on the memory of the event
     • The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The verb implied information about the speed, which systematically affected the participants’ memory of the accident.

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