The idea of this article came after another experiment tested negative false belief and the experimenters were interested in seeing if a similar experiment but with positive false belief could affect memory. The article experimented by testing adults and their memories by creating a false memory and seeing how they act according the information given. The adults were told they “loved eating asparagus as children” (Laney, Morris, Bernstein, and Wakefield, & Loftus, 2008, p.291), after this they were tested to see if they liked asparagus more as adults. This experiment was successful and the adults were also tested on their willingness to buy and consume more asparagus. The experiments altered the view of childhood in these adults, and the experiment was successful (Laney et al., 2008), and showed that experiments like this one can be used to help patients and treat them from past traumas and/or alter their minds.
Variables in this experiment consisted of the independent variable is the one that is changed by the scientist, was the idea/words implemented during both experiments, the would be the people and the altering minds/thoughts of the people
The
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dependent variable would be the response of the people according to what they are told, whether they liked asparagus more than before as a result of what they are told The controlled variables where the students that were not in “love Group” The methods applied during the first experiment consisted of 128 students, with a mean of 20.8 in age.
They were then assigned to the “love Group” or the “control Group”. All groups completed questionnaires about their personalities and food preferences. They were also asked to complete another questionnaire and about their preferences of dishes. A week passed and the groups were asked to come back, this time they were given false feedback including “you loved to eat cooked asparagus”. Then they were asked to complete them same question once again, along with two other question test. The first had to do with food preferences and the second focused on food cost questions. At the end they were asked to do one final test, that tested them on their memory and belief about asparagus and if so what were the
consequences? The results from the Love groups indicated that they were manipulated and that the group became more confident in their love for asparagus. The study used a quantitative study by using the test and the number of student to conclude the means of both the love groups and the control group. The second experiment replicated the first with a few modifications. The aim was to see if there were any false memory consequences after being told false information and to see if asparagus was more appealing. They gathered 103 students with a mean age of 19.9, and again they were assigned to love group or control group. After conducting the same questions as the first experiment, the groups were also asked to come again after a week. The difference was that the love group this time was told they loved asparagus the first time they tried it. They were then asked to view and rate a slide show with images of food. The results indicated that subject’s memories and beliefs did alter. Once again the groups became more confident in there belief and memories for love of asparagus. Research concluded that if the subjects are given a positive belief then, the beliefs do come with consequences. Also, the subjects can be led to believe they had positive encounters with foods as children and that having them believe this leads to consequences, but the conclusion only works if the students accepted the false information given to them.
In this study, Øverås et al. (2014) experiment’s had two independent variables. The first independ...
Experimental research is the one type of research that allows psychologists to make causal statements. It is where the researcher changes one or more variables that may have an effect on some other variables (King, 2016). The hypothesis is a specific expectation about what is going to happen in the experiment (King, 2016). In the research, the hypothesis was that women would perceive fat talk to be more socially acceptable than men (Katrevich et al., 2014). The other elements of experimental method are dependent and independent variables. The independent variable (IV) is the cause of the results, and it is changed by the experimenter to find the effects, but the dependent vari...
Steffens, M., & Mecklenbräuker, S. (2007). False memories: Phenomena, theories, and implications. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie/Journal Of Psychology, 215(1), 12-24. doi:10.1027/0044-3409.215.1.12
Overall, this article was very informative. I believed Loftus and Bernstein did a great job analyzing these different methods of research. I would of like the article more if the findings in thus research were more elaborate on the process. Finally, the reader is left with various detailed procedures but no definite answer on how to really tell false or true memories.
Belief is a fundamental human trait. Belief in many things is what helps humans continue living their lives. Religious beliefs are one of the strongest forces of human emotion and often times those emotions can create dangerous situations. When people's religious beliefs are taken to extreme levels innocent people can be hurt. All throughout history there have been examples of just such incidents occurring. From the Inquisition, to suicide bombers in Israel, to the fighting in Ireland, to the recent events at the World Trade Center religious beliefs taken to extremes have been seen. In the United States many groups preach extreme beliefs that are harmful to the American people. One such group is the Religious Right.
In the study, the independent variable, the variable to be manipulated, was the different emotion conditions of the experimenter, which was myself. I had to give three different emotion conditions, which are smile, neutral and frown. Moreover, the dependent variable, the variable to be measured, of the study was the degree of emotional response of the strangers that were approached. In addition, the study might include confounding variable, which are the cultural background of the strangers, and the mood of strangers of the time. The confounding variables should be controlled as they might affect the dependent variable. The operation of the experiment was I walk up to a stranger and put on different emotions on my face, and observe the response of the stranger.
Storbeck, J., & Clore, G. L. (2005). With sadness comes accuracy; with happiness, false memory. Psychological Science, 16(10), 785-791.
Research has shown that even though information may be committed to memory, what is retrieved can be altered during the encoding process. It has been said that, “the recollection of memory can be manipulated and or large aspects of the event can be confabulated.” (Cain,1997). Moreover, the recollection of past experiences can negatively affect future decisions, opinions, and more significant outcomes such as an eyewitness. This type of impact is due to something called, “false memories.” False memories can be defined as “an recollection of an event that never actually occurred.” False memories are said to be normal occurrences and have little impact on lives. However, Loftus and Palmer argue something different. In 1974, Loftus and Palmer conducted an experiment to test out the theory behind “false memories.” Their aim was to show that language used in eyewitness testimony can alter memory. People in this experiment were asked to estimate the speed of motor vehicles using different ways of questioning. Loftus and Palmer asked questions in regards to vehicle speed because typically that is something that most people are bad at estimating. Therefore these people would be more vulnerable and open to suggestions. The procedure of this experiment involved participants watching a video of cars. Participants were asked what they had seen in regards to how that car came in contact with the other car. Loftus and Palmer used words like “crashed, collided, hit, and smashed.” Their findings concluded that the estimated speed was affected by the verb used to describe the cars’ contact with one another. It seem as if participants saw that the verbs as clues of the speed the cars were going. Loftus and Palmer also came to the conclusion that there could only be two reasons for their findings. Those reasons were Response- bias factors or the fact that the memory representation is alter.
Medical advancement coupled with psychology, and behavioral science may potentially hold the combination lock to curing this world of trauma and strife. We now live in a world in which modern medicine and neuroscience can potentially remove a person’s negative memory and change their response to trauma. Whether or not this capacity is ethical or moral is an entirely different issue that requires an in depth analysis of the potential uses of such treatments. Are they morally permissible? Can they help us lead better lives? Could the potential for abuse create moral hazards much worse than the traumas we seek to cure? All this and more must be explored if we are to draw conclusions about this modern wonder.
The study consisted of 3200 participants (all men) .They all were given questionnaires and from their responses and their manner, each participant was put into one of two groups:
In the first experiment participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The first group would read the passage on red paper and test on red paper, the second group read the passage on red paper and test on green paper, the third read the passage on green paper and test on green paper, and the last group read the passage on green paper and test on red paper. The second experiment was done with all new participants. In this experiment, the same passage was used and same time limit on studying and testing time. However in this experiment, participants were randomly assigned to five different groups. The groups represented what color of paper the test was printed on: red, blue, green, yellow, and pink. Students were given the material on white paper and tested on their color group paper.
Robert S. Wyer, J. (2000, July). The Cognitive Impact of Past Behavior: Influences on Beliefs,. Journal of personality and social psychology, 79(1), 5.
The first method to be discussed and analysed are experimental methods. There is a variety of experimental methods including; laboratory, field and natural experiments. These methods are the most scientific method due to them being highly objective and systematic. In addition, this method is regarded as the most powerful research method used in psychology because of the potential to investigate the causes of events and therefore, identifying the cause and effect relationship. When carrying out an experiment the researcher intervenes directly in the situation being investigated. The researcher manipulates an independent variable (IV) in order to investigate whether there is a change in the dependent variable (DV). Any other variables that could have an
According to Sternberg (1999), memory is the extraction of past experiences for information to be used in the present. The retrieval of memory is essential in every aspect of daily life, whether it is for academics, work or social purposes. However, many often take memory for granted and assume that it can be relied on because of how realistic it appears in the mind. This form of memory is also known as flashbulb memory. (Brown and Kulik, 1977). The question of whether our memory is reliably accurate has been shown to have implications in providing precise details of past events. (The British Psychological Association, 2011). In this essay, I would put forth arguments that human memory, in fact, is not completely reliable in providing accurate depictions of our past experiences. Evidence can be seen in the following two studies that support these arguments by examining episodic memory in humans. The first study is by Loftus and Pickrell (1995) who found that memory can be modified by suggestions. The second study is by Naveh-Benjamin and Craik (1995) who found that there is a predisposition for memory to decline with increasing age.
Ballarini, F., Martinez, M. C., Perez, M. D., Moncada, D., & Haydee, V. (2013). Memory in elementary school child is improved by an unrelated novel experience. PLOS, 8(6),