Loftus And Palmer 2003 Summary

The first article analyzed was Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An Example of the Interaction Between Language and Memory conducted in 1974 by Elizabeth F. Loftus and John C. Palmer from the University of Washington. Loftus and Palmer were studying reconstructive memory and believed that questions asked to individuals following an event could reconstruct their memory of that event. They chose to test that hypothesis by asking 45 students of various sizes questions regarding short clips of automobile accidents they watched. Many questions were asked afterwards, but the question regarding speed stood out the most. Half of the students were asked, “About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?” The remaining were asked …show more content…
Both articles were curious how people retrieved those memories and if outside factors could affect their remembrance. In both studies, the participants were college students and had to answer questions regarding an event. The researchers from both studies predicted that some outside source not related to the event itself would affect the way a person would remember the event and that was correct for both studies. Questions that were asked from both studies were manipulated by the researcher. The study in Poland mentions the phrasing of her questions, but does not mention that aspect being important. One of the questions in the questionnaire was “How intense were your emotional reactions relating to…?”. There could be a possibility that with that study the phrasing of the questions could be influencing responses as well as the other study. It was stated in the Polish article that the level of motivation a person had to be accurate on the questionnaire determined the answers they gave. A person highly motivated for being accurate answered the questions by stating something more vague such as “in the evening” vs. saying “at 8pm”, hoping they were less likely be wrong. (Niedzwiecka 2004, Palmer & Loftus,