loftus and zanni

I need some help !! i need to find the aim method results and concusion for the loftus and zanni 1975 leading questions study about the broken headlights!! but after spending a good 5 hours searching i have little more than a few lines !! any help would be appreciated ! thanx

Reply 1

madmazda86

Gah, server went down as I was trying to post this!

Aim: To investigate the distortion of eyewitness memory by use of definitive/leading questions in interview procedure.

Method: Participants were shown a clip of a car accident. Some were asked "Did you see a broken headlight?" and others were asked "Did you see the broken headlight?" (the definitive.) There was no broken headlight in the film clip.

Results: 17% of the participants asked the definitive question replied that they had seen the broken headlight, while only 7% of those asked the non-definitive question said that they had.

Conclusions: The use of definitive or leading questions in an interview can lead to the creation of false memories by the eyewitness - thus eyewitness testimony is subject to inaccuracy and its reliability can be questioned.

Hope that's of help!

Reply 2

nicnac7

Thankyou so much madmazda86 !! that was exactly what i was looking for !! i dont suppose you have the reference for that information do you? i cant beleive how quickly i got a reply !! after i had spent half a day looking ! i can be so stupid sometimes !! lol !!

well thanx again
love nicnac7
xxx

Reply 3

madmazda86

No probs! It came from my AQA textbook :wink:

Psychology for AS Level

Michael W. Eysenck & Cara Flanagan

Psychology Press Ltd (2000)

Reply 4

nicnac7

Im sure your a god send !! lol !!
nicnac7
xx

Reply 5

Amorya

If you need to reference the original article, here's details:

In Database:* PsycINFO 1967-1977

ACCESSION NUMBER: 1975-21258-001
DOCUMENT TYPE: Journal-Article
MEDIA TYPE: Print-Paper
AUTHOR: Loftus,-Elizabeth-F; Zanni,-Guido
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Loftus,-Elizabeth-F: U Washington
TITLE: Eyewitness testimony: The influence of the wording of a question.
PUBLICATION YEAR: 1975
SOURCE: Bulletin-of-the-Psychonomic-Society. 1975 Jan; Vol 5(1): 86-88
PUBLISHER: US: Psychonomic Society, Inc.
ISSN (PRINT VERSION): 0090-5054
LANGUAGE: English
ABSTRACT: Conducted 2 experiments in which Ss viewed a film of an automobile accident and then answered questions about events occurring in the film. 100 graduate students were Ss in Exp I, and 60 14-20 yr old Ss recruited in a library served in Exp II. Relative to questions containing an indefinite article (e.g., Did you see a broken headlight?), questions which contained a definite article (e.g., Did you see the broken headlight?) produced (a) fewer uncertain or "I don't know" responses; and (b) more "recognition" of events that never, in fact, occurred. Results, which are consistent with the view that questions asked subsequent to an event can cause a reconstruction in one's memory of that event, have important implications for courtroom practices and eyewitness investigations. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
KEY CONCEPTS: wording of question, eyewitness testimony, graduate students and 14-20 yr olds
MAJOR DESCRIPTORS: *Grammar-; *Legal-Processes; *Memory-; *Sentence-Structure; *Suggestibility-
CLASSIFICATION CODE: 3200-Psychological-and-Physical-Disorders; 3200; 32
POPULATION: Human
SPECIAL FEATURE: References
UPDATE CODE: 19750701

If you want me to format a reference for you from it, ask again when I'm more awake. Searching journals at half 3 in the morning is kinda confusing!

Amorya

Reply 6

guestguest

nicnac7

look in an a2 psychology book. why do people cry out for information when there r books related to their topics stupid if you ask me.

Reply 7

nicnac7

Thanks for that Amorya but i dont think ineed that much information !! thanx all the same !!

Reply 8

nicnac7

guestguest I dont think your comment was fair to be honest !! i need the information on the saturday and i dont have a a2 psychology book at home so i needed to use a different source!! and seen as though the internet was no use to me i decided to try this !! it was not a cry for help i was just asking for information !!