Evaluate The Difference Between Loftus And Palmer
Discussion:
The findings of this experiment suggest different results from the original experiment carried out by Loftus and Palmer in 1974, as there was no significant difference between the estimated speeds between the two groups because the results were not statically different. The descriptive results showed that the participants in the smashed group estimated a higher speed than the participants of the contacted group, (smashed group estimated a speed of 61.375 whereas the contacted group estimated a speed of 49.5), however the Mann-Whitney U test values indicated that the difference wasn’t significant enough to differentiate between the two conditions and so the difference was due to chance. The results reject the experimental hypothesis and support the null hypothesis that states that the use of the word “smashed” in the critical question will have no effect on the speed estimated. As my results are different to the original experiment carried out by Loftus and Palmer I suspect that there were some limitations in my attempt to replicate the experiment.
One reason for this could be the limited amount of data caused by the limited amount of participants. The results would probably be more accurate if the sample size of participants had been …show more content…
I would use a random sampling technique in order to have a more variety of participants, as only business and sociology students were used. I would include participants all of ages in order to have a higher variety. Furthermore I would use a higher number of participants and I would carry out a repeated measures design, in which participant would have to watch several clips and respond several questionnaires. Moreover I would conduct the same experiment in other topics rather than only in the estimation of car speed, for example testing if the phrasing of the question affects the ability to estimate a human
The findings of this experiment suggest different results from the original experiment carried out by Loftus and Palmer in 1974, as there was no significant difference between the estimated speeds between the two groups because the results were not statically different. The descriptive results showed that the participants in the smashed group estimated a higher speed than the participants of the contacted group, (smashed group estimated a speed of 61.375 whereas the contacted group estimated a speed of 49.5), however the Mann-Whitney U test values indicated that the difference wasn’t significant enough to differentiate between the two conditions and so the difference was due to chance. The results reject the experimental hypothesis and support the null hypothesis that states that the use of the word “smashed” in the critical question will have no effect on the speed estimated. As my results are different to the original experiment carried out by Loftus and Palmer I suspect that there were some limitations in my attempt to replicate the experiment.
One reason for this could be the limited amount of data caused by the limited amount of participants. The results would probably be more accurate if the sample size of participants had been …show more content…
I would use a random sampling technique in order to have a more variety of participants, as only business and sociology students were used. I would include participants all of ages in order to have a higher variety. Furthermore I would use a higher number of participants and I would carry out a repeated measures design, in which participant would have to watch several clips and respond several questionnaires. Moreover I would conduct the same experiment in other topics rather than only in the estimation of car speed, for example testing if the phrasing of the question affects the ability to estimate a human