Loftus and Palmer (1974) Eye Witness Testimony

Aim: To see if the wording of a question affects memory

Design: Experimental

Variables: the IV: The wording of the critical question. DV:the estimated speed and whether participants reported seeing non-existent glass

Procedure: Participants watched video clips of car crashes and were asked a number of questions. The Critical question: “how fast were the cars travelling when they smashed/collided/bumped etc”  

Results: Participants who had heard the more emotive verbs e.g. smashed were significantly more likely to estimate that the cars were travelling faster and they were significantly more likely to have reported that they had seen glass than those who had heard the less emotive verbs- e.g. contacted

This shows us that memories can be distorted after an event and that the wording of questions affects memory