Loftus and Palmer (study)

The Loftus and Palmer study investigated how the wording of a question can influence a person's memory of an event. Participants watched videos of car accidents and later answered questions about what they had seen. When asked about the speed of the cars using different words—such as "smashed" versus "hit"—those who heard "smashed" estimated the cars were going faster. The study showed that specific language can alter our memory and perception of events, highlighting how our memories are susceptible to suggestion and can be unintentionally distorted by the way questions are phrased.