Cognitive area: Loftus and Palmer

Question 1

What was the aim of the study?

Answer 1

To investigate the effect of language on memory (in particular, leading questions)

Question 2

What was the research methods of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 2

Lab experiment and self report

Question 3

What was the sample used in experiment one?

Answer 3

45 students from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Question 4

What is a strength of Loftus and Palmer’s sample? (experiment one)

Answer 4

Good sample size

Question 5

What were the weaknesses of Loftus and Palmer’s sample? (experiment one)

Answer 5

9 per group may not show consistent effect

Question 6

What are the IV’s in experiment one?

Answer 6

Contacted, bumped, hit, collided, smashed

Question 7

What is the DV in experiment one?

Answer 7

Speed estimate

Question 8

How many film clips were shown in experiment one?

Answer 8

7

Question 9

How long was each film clip in experiment one?

Answer 9

5 - 30 seconds

Question 10

How many of the clips in experiment one contained car crashes and what was the purpose of this?

Answer 10

4 of them in order to reduce order effects

Question 11

Where were the films sourced from and what type of video were they? (experiment one)

Answer 11

Seattle Police Department safety promotion videos

Question 12

After each video what were P’s asked to do? (experiment one)

Answer 12

Give an account of what they had just seen

Question 13

After giving an account of what they had just seen what did P’s have to do?

Answer 13

Answer a set of questions (including a speed estimate)

Question 14

What was the mean speed estimate for ‘smashed’ condition?

Answer 14

40.8mph

Question 15

What was the mean speed estimate for ‘collided’ condition?

Answer 15

39.3mph

Question 16

What was the mean speed estimate for ‘bumped’ condition?

Answer 16

38.1mph

Question 17

What was the mean speed estimate for ‘hit’ condition?

Answer 17

34.0mph

Question 18

What was the mean speed estimate for ‘contacted’ condition?

Answer 18

31.8mph

Question 19

What type of data was collected in experiment 1?

Answer 19

Ordinal

Question 20

Conclusion: P’s aren’t good at…..

Answer 20

Estimating the speed of moving vehicles

Question 21

Conclusion: Intensity of the verb…..

Answer 21

Impacts speed estimates

Question 22

What affect did the leading questions have on P’s memory?

Answer 22

It altered it

Question 23

Outline how the P’s exhibited response bias

Answer 23

The wording of the question caused P’s to alter their answer to what they actually believed

Question 24

What was the experimental design used in experiment 2?

Answer 24

Independent measures

Question 25

Describe the sample used in experiment 2

Answer 25

150 students split into 3 groups of 50

Question 26

What were the 3 conditions for the IV in experiment 2?

Answer 26

Smashed
Hit
Control group

Question 27

What was the DV in experiment 2?

Answer 27

Speed estimates

Whether broken glass was reported or not

Question 28

What were participants required to do on the first day? (experiment 2)

Answer 28

To watch the film and then fill in the questionnaires

Question 29

What did the first questionnaire ask? (experiment 2)

Answer 29

To describe the accident and then answer a series of questions

Question 30

What was the critical question from experiment 2?

Answer 30

‘About how fast were the cars going when they hit/smashed into each other?’

Question 31

When did P’s return to complete part 2 of experiment 2?

Answer 31

One week later

Question 32

What did P’s have to do in part 2 of experiment 2?

Answer 32

Fill out a questionnarie

Question 33

What was the critical questions in part 2 of experiment 2?

Answer 33

‘Did you see any broken glass?’

Question 34

What was the mean speed estimate for the ‘smashed’ condition? (experiment 2)

Answer 34

10.46mph

Question 35

What was the mean speed estimate for the ‘hit’ condition? (experiment 2)

Answer 35

8mph

Question 36

How many P’s in the ‘smashed’ condition stated that they could see broken glass? (experiment 2)

Answer 36

16 out of 50

Question 37

How many P’s in the ‘hit’ condition stated that they could see broken glass? (experiment 2)

Answer 37

7 out of 50

Question 38

How many P’s in the control group stated that they could see broken glass? (experiment 2)

Answer 38

6 out of 50

Question 39

What two things did Loftus and Palmer conclude that word use will affect?

Answer 39

Speed estimates and affects p’s thinking of seeing broken glass

Question 40

What did Loftus and Palmer conclude that use of a more intensive verb will affect?

Answer 40

More intensive verb = higher speed and more likely to report broken glass

Question 41

What is Loftus and Palmer’s study a good piece of evidence for?

Answer 41

Reconstructive memory

Question 42

What 2 things did Loftus and Palmer propose memory is made up of?

Answer 42

Info from the original scene

Post-event info

Question 43

How did Loftus and Palmer uphold protection from harm?

Answer 43

Clips shown did not show gruesome or distressing images

Question 44

How did they break consent?

Answer 44

P’s weren’t fully aware of the experiment and believed it to be purely about memory

Question 45

How did they break the ethical guideline of deception?

Answer 45

There was mild deception about hypothesis as filler questions were used

Question 46

Was the study internally reliable? (standardised procedure and replicable)

Answer 46

Yes - high level controls and standardised instructions make it replicable

Question 47

Was the sample large enough to suggest a consistent effect? (external reliability)

Answer 47

Study 1 - No, only 9 in each group

Study 2 - Yes, 50 in each group

Question 48

What type of validity did the study lack?

Answer 48

Internal and ecological

Question 49

Why did the study lack internal validity?

Answer 49

P’s knew they were in a study so may have answered yes as they thought that’s what they were supposed to say