participants viewed a series of slides depicting an automobile accident. immediately afterward, half of the participants were as
ked, "how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" the other participants were asked, "how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" one week later, all participants were asked more questions about the slides, including whether they had seen any broken glass in the slides. a comparison of the two groups of participants is likely to show that
Participants who were asked the "smashed" question gave higher estimates of speed and were more likely to remember seeing broken glass.
This is an example of The misinformation effect and false memories. Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus says, "The misinformation effect refers to the impairment in memory for the past that arises after exposure to misleading information."
The work of Loftus and her team demonstrated that if someone is asked questions after they have witnessed an event, the questions can actually influence the persons memory of that event. If a question contains misleading information, it can distort the memory of the event.
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