In the Loftus and Palmer experiment, participants who heard the word 'smashed' estimated that the cars were traveling at a much higher speed than participants who heard the word 'contacted'. The implied information about speed encouraged them to remember the cars were going faster.

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Loftus and Palmer demonstrated that a leading question can affect a person's memory of an event. Their experiment showed that the implied information based on the specific verb used to describe a car accident influenced participants' subsequent recall of the event.

Loftus and Palmer Experiment

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Effect of Leading Questions on Speed Estimates

A follow-up to the Loftus and Palmer experiment conducted one week later showed that leading questions can create false memories. Participants who had been in the 'smashed' group were more than twice as likely to falsely remember seeing broken glass, despite none being shown in the accident pictures.

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