Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Question 1

Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Aim

Answer 1

To determine if false memories of autobiographical events can be created through the power of suggestion.

Question 2

Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Procedure

Answer 2

• Before study, parent or older sibling was contacted to get info about participants’s childhood
• Participants then received a questionnaire in the mail that contained four memories that they were asked to write about and then mail back
• Three of the memory events were real and one was a falsified memory of “getting lost in the mall” with info provided by the family member
• Participants were instructed that if they didn’t remember any of the events to write “I do not remember this.”
• Participants were interviewed twice over a period of four weeks
  
  • Asked to recall as much as possible
  • Asked to rate clarity of the memory on a scale of 1-5
• After second interview, they were debriefed and asked if they could guess which of memories was a false memory

Question 3

Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Findings

Answer 3

• After booklet, about 30% of participants recalled or partially recalled the false memory
• After the first interview, about 25% of the participants recalled the false memory. This number stayed consistent for the second interview
• During debriefing, participants were told which memory was false. 19 of 24 chose the false memory correctly
• Participants also ranked the clarity of the false memory less confidently than the other memory and they wrote less about the memory on their questionnaire
• Individuals can be lead to believe that events occurred to them simply based on the power of suggestion
• Supports reconstructive memory

Question 4

Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Limitations

Answer 4

• Retrospective study - reliant on memories of family members
• Social desirability effect
• Possible contamination -Questionnaire was filled out at home, they could have consulted with someone

Question 5

Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Ethical Considerations

Answer 5

• Deception
• Protection of harm
• Debriefing
• Informed consent

Question 6

Loftus and Pickrell Study (cognitive)

Research Method

Answer 6

• Experiment
• Interview (initial with parent/family member and second with participant)