5 leading questions + post-event discussions AO1 + 3 (factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

what are leading questions?

Questions that suggest or bias a witness’s answer, distorting memory.

Loftus & Palmer (1974) Exp. 1 LQ

AIM:
To see whether the verb in a question affects speed estimates.

METHOD:
• 45 students
• Watched car accident films
• Asked: “How fast were the cars going when they hit/smashed/bumped/collided/contacted?”

RESULTS:
• “Smashed” → 40.5 mph
• “Contacted” → 31.8 mph
→ Leading questions change memory of speed.

Loftus & Palmer (1974) Exp. 2 LQ

AIM:
To see if leading questions create false memories.

METHOD:
• 150 participants
• Watched a 1-min crash
• Asked either “hit”, “smashed”, or no question
• 1 week later asked: “Did you see broken glass?” (There was none.)

RESULTS:
• “Smashed” → 32% said yes
• “Hit” → 14%
• Control → 12%
→ Leading questions produce false memories, not just biased answers.

Gabbert et al (2003) PED

AIM:
To test if talking with another witness causes memory contamination.

METHOD:
• Participants in pairs
• Watched same crime, but from different angles (each saw unique details) of girl stealing money from a wallet
• Allowed to discuss the event before recalling individually

RESULTS:
• 71% recalled details they never saw

• 60% said the girl was guilty despite not seeing the crime
  • 0% errors in control group
  → PED causes memory conformity and misinformation.

What is post-event discussion?

When witnesses discuss an event after it happened, causing memory contamination (mixing info from others).
This can distort original memory.

s/w: not all LQ lead to memory distortion

P: Not all research supports the idea that leading questions distort memory.

E: Elizabeth Loftus showed participants slides of a purse being stolen (originally red) and later gave misleading information stating it was brown.

E: Despite this, 98% of participants correctly recalled the red purse, and only 2 participants changed their answer to brown.

L: This suggests that leading questions may not always affect eyewitness testimony, particularly when the misleading information is obviously incorrect, limiting the generalisability of the theory.

w: lack of ecological validity and dc

P: There is an issue with the validity of Loftus and Palmer's research.

E: A witness to a real-life car crash is likely to experience a greater emotional response compared with watching one on film, which research has shown may affect the memory of the witnesses in this study.

E: Other critics suggest that the participants may have worked out the aims of the study, and on hearing the word 'smashed', gave the higher answer that they believed the researcher expected from them (demand characteristics).

L: If either criticism is correct, then the findings of these experiments tell us little about the effect of leading questions on real-life eyewitness testimony.

Strength: Applications LQ

P: Leading question research has important real-world applications.
E: Police now avoid using biased verbs or suggestive questioning.
E: Contributed to the development of the Cognitive Interview, improving justice system accuracy.
L: Shows high practical value, increasing real-world reliability of EWT.

Strength: Gabbert Reliability (2007) PED

P: A strength is reliable, consistent evidence from Gabbert et al.
E: Across repeated trials, 71% of participants reported misinformation they never saw.
E: Control group = 0% errors → strong comparison.
L: Shows PED consistently leads to memory conformity, increasing reliability of findings.

Weakness: Bodner et al (2009) PED

P: A weakness is that PED effects (emotions) can be reduced.
E: Bodner et al found that when participants were warned about misleading information, memory distortion dropped significantly.
E: This means PED isn’t inevitable as there no consequences for doing so.
L: Weakens the argument that all eyewitnesses are highly vulnerable to misinformation.

Strength: Applications PED

P: Research into PED has important practical applications.
E: Police now separate witnesses to prevent discussion and memory contamination.
E: Contributed to improved interviewing strategies like the Cognitive Interview (e.g., reporting without discussion).
L: Increases accuracy of real-world EWT → high societal value.