Memory Is Rebuilt
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
Memory is often compared with a recording that can be replayed unchanged. Research shows that later information can influence what people report remembering. Recall uses stored information, but it can also be shaped by the wording of a question asked afterward.
In experiments by Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer, participants watched films of car accidents. One experiment found higher speed estimates when a question used smashed rather than hit. In a second experiment, participants who received smashed were more likely a week later to report broken glass that the film did not contain.
These results show that a small change in wording can affect both an immediate estimate and a later report. They support concern about information introduced after an event. Researchers must still distinguish changes in memory from changes in how people choose to answer a question.
An interviewer can reduce this risk by asking open questions before introducing suggested details. Asking what someone remembers differs from asking how much glass they saw. The latter is leading: it points toward an answer by assuming glass was present. Someone recalling an event may sincerely accept that suggestion, so confidence alone cannot settle whether the detail is accurate.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the passage?
The answer is C: Later information and question wording can influence what a person reports remembering.
The experiments show effects on estimates and later reports, and the conclusion applies this to interview wording.
-
Question 2 of 4
A week later, what were the people who heard the word smashed more likely to report?
The answer is A: Broken glass that the film did not contain.
The second experiment found more reports of nonexistent broken glass after the word smashed.
-
Question 3 of 4
Why does the passage say a confident witness and an accurate witness are not the same?
The answer is B: A suggested detail can be accepted sincerely even if it was not part of the event.
The conclusion distinguishes a person's confidence from whether a suggested detail actually occurred.
-
Question 4 of 4
What does “leading” mean when describing a question?
The answer is C: push the answer toward a particular version of events
The example shows a word inside the question shaping the answer, which is what makes such a question leading.
Score: none answered yet.