The Forgetting Machine: Memory, Perception, and the "Jennifer Aniston Neuron"

by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga

Loftus showed different subjects a video of a traffic accident and then asked them to estimate the speed of the cars that were involved in it. But now comes the interesting part: she asked one group of subjects to estimate the speed of the cars when they hit each other; she asked another group for the speed when they collided; a third group had to estimate the cars’ speeds when they smashed into each other; with the fourth group she used the word contacted; and with the fifth, she used bumped. The surprising result was that all subjects saw the same video in the same conditions, yet those who were asked using the word smashed gave the highest speed estimates, followed by those who heard collided, bumped, hit, and, finally, contacted. Even more surprising was that, a week later, Loftus asked the same subjects if they had seen broken glass at the scene of the accident. Thirty-two percent of the subjects who heard the word smashed answered (incorrectly) that they had, while only 14 percent of those who heard the word hit did.

Important study to support why severity of language can change how media is interpreted. Journalistic integrity should include thoughtfulness about this concept.