Cognitive Studies

Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Aim

To investigate if the use of leading questions can affect an eyewitness’ estimation of speed.

Method

True laboratory experiment with an independent measures design

Procedure

• 45 participants were divided into nine groups of five

  • All participants watched a series of seven films depicting traffic incidents

• A questionnaire included various questions, one of which asked participants to estimate the cars’ speed during the accident

  • Depending on the condition, the modality of the verbs varied

  • Researchers used collided, bumped, smashed, contacted, or hit to describe the crash

Results

• The average speed estimates were highest in the ‘smashed’ condition and the lowest in the ‘contacted’ condition

Conclusion

• The modality of the verb used may have affected participants’ schema, therefore changing their recollection of the films

  • For instance, the verb “smashed” may elicit the cognitive schema of a severe accident and therefore distort the memory to be more similar to their schema

  • Similarly, “contacted” implies a very minor incident and thus changes according to the cognitive schema of a minor collision

• The results also imply that memories are reconstructed when accessed since the responses varied according to environmental stimulus

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

Aim

To examine if the multi-store memory model is correct in separating short-term memory from long-term memory.

Method

Ture laboratory experiment with a repeated measures design

Procedure

• Sample consisted of 46 army-enlisted men

• They were shown a series of lists containing 15 monosyllabic words with a two-second interval between words

• In different conditions, the participants would have an immediate recall, a 10 second delay, or a 30 second delay

  • Participants were asked to write down as many words as they could recall after the delay/lack thereof

Results

• In the immediate recall, both primacy and recency effects occurred

• The 10-second distraction task led to a significant reduction in recency effect while the 30-second delay led to no recency effect at all

Conclusion

• The presence of the recency effect in the immediate recall condition but not in the others implies a memory store lasting a very short period (short-term memory)

• Primacy effect existing throughout conditions indicates that participants had enough time to repeat the words, transferring them to the long-term memory store

Conrad and Hull (1964)

Aim

To test if the phonological similarity effect exists.

Method

True laboratory experiment with a repeated measures design

Procedure

• Participants saw a series of similar-sounding or dissimilar-sounding consonants and were asked to recall as many as possible

  • Sequences were presented letter by letter in a frame-by-frame projection

  • The recalls were also judged on correct order

Results

• Participants scored higher when the consonants were phonologically dissimilar

Conclusion

• These results support the existence of the phonological loop

  • The similar-sounding consonants would confuse the inner ear and therefore result in inaccurate information in the phonological store

• Also supports the possibility of the phonological similarity effect

Luce, Bettman, and Payne (1997)

Aim

To find if negative emotions can cause decision makers to process information more extensively and avoid difficult trade-offs between options.

Method

True laboratory experiment with an independent measures design

Procedure

• Participants needed to choose one child to provide aid to

  • Each child had rankings for some important traits such as living conditions and willingness to learn

  • To view these traits, participants would have to move their mouse over the table to uncover each ranking one-by-one

• In the low-emotion condition, participants were told that those they did not provide aid to would likely receive it from others

• In the high-emotion condition, participants were told that those they did not provide aid to would likely die due to lack of resources

Results

• Participants in the high-emotion condition tended to spend more time making a decision than the low-emotion group

  • They were also more likely to compare the attributes of aid candidates rather than look at all of one child’s traits at once

Conclusion

• This method of decision making is considered attribute-based and produces more accurate results although they require greater mental effort

  • Less emotion is involved in comparing traits rather than individuals

• Indicates that people will choose different decision-making strategies depending on the situation

Chapman and Chapman (1969)

Aim

To examine if illusionary biases still occur when one is presented with empirical evidence that suggests otherwise.

Method

Explicit observational study

Procedure

• Sample contained both ordinary people and medical professionals

• Researchers presented participants with old data connecting ink blot test responses to homosexuality diagnosis

• Participants then needed to evaluate a group of people on whether or not they were homosexual

Results

• Both medical professionals and other participants tended to correlate incorrect responses with homosexuality

Conclusion

• Given that participants were supplied with empirical evidence contrary to their choices, the results imply that participants tended to make correlations based on predisposed beliefs

Sharot et al. (2007)

Aim

To examine people’s personal recollections of the 9/11 attacks and the effects of personal connection on them.

Method

Quasi-experiment

Procedure

• Three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 24 New Yorker’s were recruited, forming a self-selected sample

• In an fMRI, they were presented with word cues including “summer” or “September”

  • They then needed to recall the events of the 9/11 attack

• After this task, participants evaluated their memories for vividness, detail, confidence in accuracy, and arousal

Results

• Half of the sample reported the characteristics of a flashbulb memory

  • These participants tended to have been closer to the World Trade Centre during the event and included more details in their recollection

  • They also had greater amygdala activation when recalling the terrorist attack than the events from the preceding summer

• Participants further from the World Trade Centre had the same amount of amygdala activation when recalling events from September and the preceding summer

Conclusion

• The amygdala is associated with emotions such as anxiety and fear as well as memories

  • The correlation between amygdala activation and formation of flashbulb memories indicates a biological basis for this phenomenon