PSYCH 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Elizabeth Loftus, Lewis Terman, Sigmund Freud
14 Jun 2018
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Week #6 psychology
Elizabeth Loftus TED talk: The Misinformation Effect
The Misinformation Effect: Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an
event.
In 1974, Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer asked people to watch a video of a minor car
accident. The participants were then asked, (ow fast were cars going when they hit each
other?
Those who were asked, ...when the cars smashed into each other? reported _high
speeds______ and remembered ___broken glass_that wasn’t there
Implanted and Constructed Memories
Implanted Examples:
According to the TED talk: In a study by Elizabeth Loftus, people were asked to provide
details of a incident in childhood when they had been lost in a shopping mall.
Even though there actually had been no such incident, by trying to picture details, how
many people reported that it did?
Constructed Examples:
1.Television courtroom shows make it look like there is often false testimony because
people are intentionally lying.
2.We tend to alter our memories to fit our current views – such as those of a person we
loved
By trying to help someone recall a memory, you may implant a memory.
About 25% believed it had happened
.You can’t tell how real a memory is by how real it feels. Mistaken testimony. People are
trying to tell the truth but are overconfident about their fallible memories, not realizing
that memories are constructions.
.When in love, we overestimate our first attraction; after a breakup, we recall being able
to tell it wouldn’t work.
Implanted Memories
Imagination Inflation
What are 3 things we do that change our memories?
1. Simply picturing an event can make it seem like a real memory.
2. Once we have an inaccurate memory, we tend to add more imagined details, as perhaps
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Document Summary
The misinformation effect: incorporating misleading information into one"s memory of an event. In 1974, elizabeth loftus and john palmer asked people to watch a video of a minor car accident. The participants were then asked, (cid:498)(ow fast were cars going when they hit each other? (cid:499) Those who were asked, (cid:498)when the cars smashed into each other? (cid:499) reported _high speeds______ and remembered ___broken glass_that wasn"t there. According to the ted talk: in a study by elizabeth loftus, people were asked to provide details of a incident in childhood when they had been lost in a shopping mall. 1. television courtroom shows make it look like there is often false testimony because people are intentionally lying. By trying to help someone recall a memory, you may implant a memory. 2. we tend to alter our memories to fit our current views such as those of a person we (cid:498)loved (cid:883). you can"t tell how real a memory is by how real it feels.
