LoftusAndPalmer

The Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction

Post-event information is information that can be added to a memory after the event has actually occurred. This means that the original event can be reconstruction with the addition of other information.

Loftus and Palmer’s study questions whether eye witness testimonies are accurate due to the fact that the memory of the person could have been altered in the space of time between the events of the incident and the hearing.

Context and Aims

Loftus also investigated whether the use of specific verbs

The main aim of the experiment was to see how much information could be supplied after an event can influence the witness’ memory of the event

Specific questions such as ‘what was the speed at which the car was moving?’ may be answered incorrectly due to suggestive words in the question. The word speed suggest a fast movement so the person is more likely to say a faster speed.

Leading questions are questions that imply that a certain answer is required.

Context and Aims

Experiment 1 Procedures

45 students were shown seven film clips of car accidents.They ranged from 5 - 30 seconds long.After viewing each clip ta series of questions about he students were asked to write a report on what they had seen. They were then asked the videos.

The critical question was “At what speed was the car travelling?” The five categories of students were asked this question but with a different verb.Loftus and Palmer wanted to see of the verb influenced the students’(eye witnesses’) answers.

Questions included• About how fast were the cars going when they collided with each other?• About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?• About how fast were the cars going when they bumped into each other?• About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?• About how fast were the cars going when they contacted each other?

•150 students watched a one minute video clip which contained a 4 second scene of a multiple car pile-up.•They were asked a series of questions about the scene.•The same question (about how fast the cars were going...) was used but the students were also asked to return a week later to answer more questions.•When they returned another critical question was asked; “Was there any glass at the scene?”.

Experiment 2 Procedures

Participants were asked how fast the cars were going when they collided. However, different verbs were used, such as “smashed” and “hit.” It has been concluded that the verb used affects the participant’s recollection of the speed of the car. For example, the people that were asked “How fast were the cars going when they smashed?” seemed to give answers higher than those that were asked “How fast were they cars going when they contacted?” There was a significant difference of almost 10mph. These results show that a single word/verb can affect a witness’s answer to that question.

Experiment 1 Conclusions

The researchers concluded that the memory of the car accident can be influenced or affected by the verb that was used to describe the car crash. It had a significant influence on the participant’s recall of the film they had watched.They also concluded that the participants may have associated the broken glass with the verb used to describe the accident. For example, the word “smashed” has a link to broken glass, unlike the verb “bumped.” Finally, they concluded that the participants showed demand characteristics. They could have given estimates of the speed they thought the researcher wanted based on the verb used.

Experiment 2