4.3 Classic Evidence: Loftus and Palmer (1974) Approach 4: The Cognitive Approach 4.3 Classic Evidence: Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Starter Imagine that one day, you are walking in the city centre, and suddenly, out of nowhere, a car screeches around the corner and hits another car. You witness the entire event. A few hours later, you have to give a witness statement to the police. How accurate do you think your memory for the event will be? What things could affect the accuracy of your memory?

Aim and Context “I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” Have you ever witnessed a crime? How accurate do you think your memory would be if you did? What factors might affect how accurate your memory is?

Aim and Context What is EWT? The use of eyewitnesses to give evidence in court. Used to help the police apprehend a suspect, and can also be used as evidence in a criminal trial. EWT is a vital part of the justice system, but what happens when it goes wrong?

Aim and Context The Innocence project An organisation which works to clear the names of wrongly convicted people They claim that eyewitness misidentification is the greatest single cause of wrongful convictions in the USA, convictions that were later overturned by DNA evidence. The study by Loftus and Palmer took place in 1974. Why is this relevant to the context?

Aim and Context “A leading question is a question that either by its form or content, suggests to the witness what answer is desired, or leads him to the desired answer. Elizabeth Loftus

Aim and Context Retroactive interference Incoming information is integrated and confused with existing knowledge Our mind does not work like a camera

Aim and Context Carmichael (1932) You have a minute to remember the pictures on the page When the minute is up, you should turn your page over, and wait for me to tell you to reproduce the images. Compare your drawing with your partners. Are there any differences? How do we explain these results?

Aim and Context Carmichael’s experiment suggests that memory is not always accurate. Memory is reconstructed from the different elements (the pictures and the words) Also, this experiment suggests that language (the verbal labels) can alter our recall.

Aim and Context Filmore (1971) suggested that the words smashed and hit may imply different rates of speed. These words lead the listener to assume different consequences to the impacts to which they are referring, with hit being perceived as gentler than smashed.

Aim and Context Loftus and Palmer’s experiment was actually two experiments. They wanted to investigate in general how accurate or inaccurate memory was. Specifically, they wanted to see the effect of leading questions upon estimates of speed. Therefore there are two aims to this study.

Aim and Context Experiment 1 See if the speed estimates would be influenced by the wording of the question asked. Hit vs Smashed

Aim and Context Experiment 2 To see if the leading questions just changed the responses given to the questions, or whether the participant’s memories had actually altered as a result of the leading questions.

Methodology Use the information on page 76 and the text taken from the original article on the next page, and complete the summary table for experiment 1 and 2.

Procedures Experiment 1 Using the information on page 76 and the text from the original article above, put the steps of the procedure of experiment 1 into the correct order. Why were the participants not told about the true aims of the study? Why were the participants given a series of questions rather than just the critical question alone?

Procedures Experiment 2 Using the information on page 76 and the text from the original article above, create a bullet pointed list of the procedures for experiment 2 What was the point of having a control group in the second experiment?

Findings Read the findings for both experiments. Create graphs for the data in tables B and D

Conclusions Write in the conclusions What do each of the data sets tell us? What conclusions can we draw? In experiment 1, Loftus and Palmer gave two alternate explanations of the results (biased response and altered memory). Which explanation do the results of experiment 2 support?

Conclusions Apply the above to explain the results of this experiment. As a framework for discussing these results, we would like to propose that two kinds of information go into one’s memory for some complex occurrence. The first is information gleaned during the perception of the original event; the second is external information supplied after the fact. Over time, information from these two sources may be integrated in such a way that we are unable to tell from which source some specific detail is recalled. All we have is one “memory.” Apply the above to explain the results of this experiment.

Evaluation Before we evaluate this study, can you think of any strengths or weaknesses?

Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures The methodology used in this study was a lab experiment. What was a strength of using this methodology in this study?

Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures Reliability: strength Standardised procedures: another researcher can repeat this study It has been replicated by other researchers many times and the results have been found to be consistent. Suggests the findings are not just due to chance, but are meaningful Supports Loftus’s conclusion about the effect of leading questions on memory.

Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures However, it could be argued that there are many factors that lower the validity of the study. Remember, ecological validity refers to how well the findings of the study can be applied to the real world.

Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures The study took place in a laboratory. What does this mean for the ecological validity of the findings? The participants watched a video of a car crash, not a real car crash. What does this mean for the ecological validity of the findings? The participants were aware that they were in a study. What does this mean for the ecological validity of the findings?

Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures Another major issue with this study that may lower the validity is the sample of participants used. All of the participants were US college students. This sample may not be representative of the target population, and so therefore the results may not be generalisable.

Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures How might US college students differ from the general population? How might this affect the results?

Evaluation: Alternative Evidence At the start of this topic, as a class we replicated a study into memory. This can be used as alternative evidence. Carmichael (1932) Briefly describe what you did, what it found, and what it suggests. How does this link to Loftus and Palmer? Does it support or contradict their conclusions?

Evaluation: Alternative Evidence There are six studies into the effect of leading questions. You need to read them and match the findings to the conclusions. Use three colours to highlight research that supports, contradicts, or develops Loftus and Palmer’s research.

Evaluation: Ethical issues and Social Implications Look at the following ethical issues. Are any of these a problem in this study? Informed consent Deception Right to withdraw Confidentiality Privacy Protection from harm

Evaluation: Ethical issues and Social Implications Deception and informed consent In research, participants should be fully informed In Loftus and Palmer, they were deceived about the true aims Why could the participants not be told the true aims of the study? Do you think the use of deception was justified in the use of this study? Explain why. However, participants would have been debriefed after the study.

Evaluation: Ethical issues and Social Implications Psychological harm Is there a possibility that the participants could have come to psychological harm during this study?

Evaluation: Ethical issues and Social Implications What important information did we learn from this study? How could this have an affect on the real world?

Exam practice Exam corner on pg 79 Classic evidence “Be Loftus for a day” pg 84 Classic evidence “True or False” pg 84