LOFTUS & PALMER (1974)

Starter: Here is an introduction to Loftus & Palmer (1974)…what information is missing…

Loftus carried out an experiment where participants are shown a film of an event and then exposed to misleading information (in a form of a leading question). Participants memory for the original event was then tested.

Think about what details we can add to this introduction section (Ao1). Be ready to provide your

feedback…

EVALUATING LOFTUS & PALMER (1974)

Using a mini-whiteboard, answer the following five multiple choice questions, on your own. How many will you score out of 5…

SAMPLE ISSUES

1. Why was her sample not good?A. It was very small;

B. The participants knew each other;

C. They were all male;

D. The students memories may not represent memories of the general population.P

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

2. Why was the method low in ecological validity?

A. The method lacked control;

B. The participants were deceived;

C. The participants watched a video clip of a car crash;

D. The participants were not placed in groups randomly.

P

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUE

3. Participants knew they were being studied and may have worked out the experiment. This may have led to…

A. Demand characteristics;

B. Low ecological validity;

C. Low population validity;

D. An ethnocentric sample.

P

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

4. Some argue that the verbs did not alter memory at all, because the question didn’t test participants memory of the event, they were just guessing the speed estimate. This means her results were not…

A. Valid;

B. Reliable;

C. Accurate;

D. Representative.

P

ETHICAL ISSUES

5. Loftus did follow the code of ethics, however she may have broken

A. Protection from Harm;

B. Right to Withdraw;

C. Deception;

D. Informed Consent.

P

PP

LOFTUS & PALMER – PART 2

Read Loftus & Palmer (1974) – Experiment 2 and answer the following questions:

Why did Loftus carry out the second experiment?

How do we know that she carried out another lab experiment - what are the key features of a lab experiment?

What was the IV and DV in her experiment?

Examine the bar graph and outline her key findings (results).

Can you evaluate the study (methodological issues, sample issues and ethics)

FACTORS AFFECTING THE ACCURACY OF EWT

Anxiety (Weapon Focus Effect)

Loftus (1979)

Yuille & Cutshall (1986)

Riniolo et al., (2003)

Misleading Information

Loftus & Palmer (1974)

Coxon & Valentine (1997)

Age of Witness

Coxon & Valentine (1997)

Parker & Caranza (1989)

COXON & VALENTINE (1997)

You can also use Coxon & Valentine (1997) this study when discussing how age affects the accuracy of EWT.

What did they conclude about children as eye witnesses?

A LINE-UP

You will be given a section of Coxon & Valentine’s (1997) study. As a class you need to put the study in the correct order by making a line in the classroom and finding your position in the line.

Good Luck!

WHO IS THE LEAST RELIABLE AND MOST ACCURATE EYE WITNESS?

Coxon & Valentine (1997)

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE EWT

Like Coxon & Valentine (1997) many researchers believe that children are less reliable witnesses than young adults.

Why – Mind Map any reason why you think children are less reliable witnesses than young adults, using your mini-whiteboard.

Children want to make positive identifications;

Children are easily misled by misleading information.

PARKER & CARRANZA (1989)

Investigated whether children are more likely to make false identifications;

Participants saw a film of a mock crime and then asked to identify the criminal from a range of target photos. They were given the option of saying “criminal not present”.

Children were more likely to choose a photo of someone rather than select “criminal not present”.

PARKER & CARRANZA (1989)

Task: Using the information provided at the top of your handout (shown in yellow below), complete the aim, method, results, conclusion and evaluation sections for Parker & Carranza (1989).

USE OF CHILDREN AS EYE-WITNESSES

The use of leading questions should not be permitted;

Children should not be subjected to misleading information before they give evidence;

Children who make line up identifications should be told that the criminal may not be there and its ok to say “I don’t know”

Practical applications of research