Psychology Study Debriefing (SAMPLE)



Study Debriefing (SAMPLE)

This study is concerned with the reliability of a person’s memories1. Previous studies have found that under some conditions people may create “false” or “altered” memories, which they believe to be factual recall2. Numerous factors, such as post-event information may play a role in how a person “remembers” an event they have experienced.

In this study, you were asked to view a video of a car crash. You were then asked to answer a series of questions. 3 of the 4 questions were “decoy questions.” The researchers were concerned with the fourth question. The fourth question, which asked participants to judge the speed the cars were traveling when they crashed, was phrased in three different ways. One “question set” asked, “How fast were the cars moving when they bumped each other?” The second set asked, “How fast were the cars moving when they collided with each other?” And the third set asked, “How fast were the cars moving when they smashed each other?” The researcher then compared the average assumed speeds based on the verb used to describe the accident.3

The researchers hypothesis was that participants “memory” of the accident would be altered based on the “post-event information,” or verb used to describe the accident. Researchers hypothesized that the “harsher” the verb used to describe the accident, the “faster” the participant would “remember” the cars traveling.4

5Researchers found that their hypothesis was supported by the data they gathered in the experiment. The data table shows that:

|Verb Used |Average Speed Recorded |Actual Speed |

|Bumped |15.2 mph |12 mph |

|Collided |20.5 mph |12 mph |

|Smashed |25.3 mph |12 mph |

The researchers concluded that memories can be altered based on the presence of post- event information. This evidence can be further supported by the experiments conducted by Loftus and Palmer in 1974, which this experiment was modeled off of.

6This information is important because of the implications it has for the court systems and eye-witness testimony. If memories can be altered based on post-event information, there is a chance eye-witness testimony may be altered based on information the witness is exposed to after witnessing a crime or event.

7These results will be used to complete the Internal Assessment component of the IB Psychology class. Thank you for participating in this experiment. If you have any other questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact the researchers who put this experiment together.

Respectfully,

Ms. Carmelitano

Description of what you see:

1. Your debriefing letter should inform participants what the aim of your research was

2. Your debriefing letter should briefly discuss what previous studies have found

3. Your debriefing letter should summarize the procedure of your experiment

4. Your debriefing letter should discuss what your hypothesis was

5. Your debriefing letter should reveal what your data showed you and what conclusion you drew

6. Your debriefing letter should summarize the importance of the findings

7. Your debriefing letter should thank the participants for their participation and let them know that if they want further information, they can contact you

Important to note:

Debriefing letters are meant to inform the participant of the experiment, and to thank them for their participation. It should be no longer than a page in length, but should adequately inform the participant of the results of the experiment. If a participant wishes to know how they performed, individually, in the experiment, the researcher should let them know.

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