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What happens in Loftus, Miller & Burns (1978), with the stop/yield sign experiment?

User Zaklina
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Final answer:

The Loftus, Miller & Burns (1978) study demonstrated the misinformation effect by showing that leading questions could alter participants' memories, making them remember seeing a yield sign instead of a stop sign.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the Loftus, Miller & Burns (1978) experiment involving a stop/yield sign, participants were shown a series of slides that depicted a car approaching an intersection with either a stop sign or a yield sign. Later on, through a series of leading questions, researchers attempted to manipulate the memory of participants.

For example, some participants were asked questions that contained information about a yield sign instead of a stop sign, which they had actually seen. The results showed that those exposed to misleading information were more likely to report having seen a yield sign, even if the original slide showed a stop sign.

This study provided corroborative evidence for the misinformation effect, demonstrating how memories can be distorted by post-event information, which in turn can affect eyewitness testimony.

User Jorge Aranda
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