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Loftus and Palmer

• Aim
  • To investigate the accuracy of memory.
  • To see if estimates given by particpants about the speed of vehicles in a traffic accident would be influenced by the wording of the question.
• Method
  • 45 students.
  • Shown 7 film clips of different accidents
  • Participants were given a questionnaire which asked them to describe the accident and answer questions
  • The crticial question was about the speed of the cars and the verbs were changed.
    • 'Bumped'
    • 'Colided'
    • 'Contacted'
    • 'Hit'
    • 'Smashed'
• Results
  • 'Smashed' 40.8
  • 'Collided' 39.3
  • 'Bumped' 38.1
  • 'Hit' 34.0
  • 'Contacted' 31.8
• Discussion
  • Leading questions can have an effect on memory
  • Response-bias factors: The different speed estimates occur because the verb used influences a person's response.
  • The memory representation is altered: The critical word changes a person's memory so that their perception of the accident is affected. They could lead to the accident being more or less serious.