... going when they (hit/smashed/collided/ bumped/contacted-the five conditions) each other?") posed to eyewitnesses of a car accident had a significant effect on the estimated speed of the vehicles. Loftus and Palmer found that estimated speed was influenced by the verb used. The verb implied information about the speed, which systematically affected the participants' memory of the accident. Those who were asked the question where the verb used was "smashed" thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the question with "hit" as the verb. The mean estimate when "smashed" was used was 41mph, versus 34mph when "hit" was used. Further research on the effect of language (Loftus & Zanni, 1975) found that the definite article ("the") was more leading than the indefinite article ("a") as only 7% of those asked about a broken headlight said they had seen it, compared to 17% of those asked about the broken ...

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