In an experiment, Loftus and Palmer (1974) showed participants a video of a car accident. The effect on recall when participants were asked leading questions about the accident was that participants:
A) recalled the color of the car accurately.
B) had accurate recall only after being prompted.
C) estimated the car speed based on a word in the question.
D) recalled the accident without help from word cues.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Loftus and Palmer found that participants often estimated the speed of the car based on the specific word used in the question. For example, when asked "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?", participants estimated a higher speed than when asked "About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" This suggests that leading questions can shape and distort our memory of events.

In an Experiment, Loftus and Palmer (1974) Showed Participants a Video