Loftus false memory research: full transcription
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Get the guide: $8 instant download →Participants viewed a film of a car accident, then answered a question with a single word varied between groups: how fast were the cars going when they hit each other, versus how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other. The smashed group estimated the cars were moving approximately nine miles per hour faster than the hit group, despite watching the identical film.
One week later, participants were asked whether they had seen broken glass at the scene. No broken glass appeared in the film. The smashed group was more than twice as likely to falsely report having seen it.
The misinformation effect refers to the impairment in memory for the past that arises after exposure to misleading information. The phenomenon has been investigated for at least 30 years, as investigators have addressed a number of issues, including the conditions under which people are especially susceptible to the negative impact of misinformation, and conversely when they are resistant.
Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation.
This transcription covers the 1974 foundational experiment, Loftus’s own description of the misinformation effect from her 2005 thirty-year review, and independently sourced confirmation of her federal funding. Her complete body of work spans more than 250 scientific articles and 23 books, including the lost-in-the-mall procedure and extensive courtroom applications not reproduced here.
Foundational study: Loftus, E.F. & Palmer, J.C. (1974). Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior.
Review: Loftus, E.F. (2005). Learning & Memory, 12(4), 361-366.
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