Was the Loftus and Palmer study ethical?
Another issue with Loftus & Palmer’s (1974) research is that they deceived their participants and therefore did not adhere to the code of ethics. Loftus & Palmer did not tell their participants the true aim of their research and therefore did not abide by the BPS Code of Ethics.
What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer 1974?
Loftus and Palmer (1974) Study. Aim: To test their hypothesis that the language used in eyewitness testimony can alter memory.
What were the independent and dependent variables in Loftus and Palmer’s 1974 study?
There were five different verbs used, all of which had different levels of intensity. Dependent Variable: the participants’ estimate of the speed of the cars when the they collided. Independent variable: verb used in the question: “How fast were the cars going when they ‘verb’ each other?”
What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer Research?
Loftus and Palmer aimed to show that leading questions could distort EWT accounts via the cues provided in the question. To test this hypothesis, Loftus and Palmer asked people to estimate the speed of motor vehicles using different forms of questions after they had observed a car accident.
What major problem with eyewitness testimony has Elizabeth Loftus uncovered?
What major problem with eyewitness testimony has Elizabeth Loftus uncovered? (Answer on P. 151). Witness memories are often influenced by repression. Memories of details can be altered while in sensory storage.
Is Loftus and Palmer valid?
Loftus and Palmer’s research has questionable ecological validity. On the one hand, questioning participants about everyday events like a car crash appears to be a genuine measure of eyewitness testimony.
What variables were controlled in Loftus and Palmer?
Loftus and Palmer’s study is considered a laboratory experiment as the independent variable was manipulated. A laboratory experiment examines the causal relationship between the independent variable (IV), a factor the researchers change, and the dependent variable (DV), a factor the researchers measure.
What is the null hypothesis for Loftus and Palmer?
The null hypothesis is that speed estimates in the “contacted” condition won’t be significantly different from the speed estimates given in the “smashed” condition, any dif- ferences are due to chance.
Do Loftus studies support the use of eyewitness testimony as evidence in court proceedings?
The Loftus studies do support the use of eyewitness testimony as evidence in different types of court procedures. In the field that is used for criminal law, there are multiple different types of conditions that will cancel the elements of a crime, which can also be known as defenses.
How was Loftus and Palmer Standardised?
Participants all watched the same videos, were asked the same questions (with small differences) and overall, the procedure was very standardised. This means that all participants had a consistent experience. Participants watched staged video clips of accidents rather than real accidents.
How reliable is your memory Elizabeth Loftus summary?
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus studies memories. More precisely, she studies false memories, when people either remember things that didn’t happen or remember them differently from the way they really were.
What is Loftus theory of memory?
LOFTUS: When you feed people misinformation about some experience that they may have had, you can distort or contaminate or change their memory.
What was the purpose of the Loftus Palmer study?
Loftus and Palmer (1974) Study. Aim: To test their hypothesis that the language used in eyewitness testimony can alter memory. Thus, they aimed to show that leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony accounts and so have a confabulating effect, as the account would become distorted by cues provided in the question.
Which sampling method was used in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
Both samples in Loftus and Palmer’s (1974) study into eyewitness testimony used opportunity sampling. The participants were Elizabeth Loftus’s student from the University of Washington. All 45 participants were shown the same seven film clips of different traffic accidents which were originally made as part of a driver safety film.
What are some criticisms of Loftus and Palmer’s findings?
It should also be noted that some psychologists have criticised Loftus and Palmer’s conclusions. They argue that we have no way of knowing that the participants original memories had been irretrievably altered by the leading questions.
What are the real world implications of Loftus’s study?
The study has also had real-world implications; based on evidence such as Loftus’, the Devlin Report (1976) recommended trial judges be required to instruct juries that it is not safe to convict on a single eyewitness testimony alone. One limitation of the research is that it lacked mundane realism / ecological validity.