Analyze the experiments by Howard Gardner and Elizabeth Loftus then you will pre
ID: 3464508 • Letter: A
Question
Analyze the experiments by Howard Gardner and Elizabeth Loftus then you will prepare two separate analyses; for each analysis, include the following:
A brief summary of the study
A one paragraph explanation of the background in the field leading up to the study, and the reasons the researchers carried out the project.
The significance of the study to the field of psychology
A brief discussion of supportive or contradictory follow-up research findings and subsequent questioning or criticism from others in the field
A summary of at least one recent experiment (within the past two years) that is related to the seminal experiment (Hint: Excellent sources for recent research summaries are the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology and the Association for Psychological Science).
Explanation / Answer
Howard Gardner proposed theory of multiple intelligences. He gave the theory that we have seven different kinds of intelligence namely: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily/kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist that exist independently of one another. There may be more intelligences coming in future.
Significance: Since then teachers, educators, career counsellors and even theme-park designers have applied Gardner’s idea. It gave a break to educators, students, parents for running after I.Q. rat race. There is more to intelligence than I.Q. Although academic psychologists are reluctant to pick up as Gardner is not inclined to produce yet another standardized aptitude test.
Background: He spent time with two very different groups, normal and gifted children and brain damaged children. Concluding his research and observations he synthesized his study and published “Frames of Mind” which outlined his theory of multiple intelligences.
After spending time working with two very different groups, normal and gifted children and brain-damaged adults, Gardner began developing a theory designed to synthesize his research and observations. In 1983, he published Frames of Mind which outlined his theory of multiple intelligences.
Future: Supportive study In 2000 Project SUMIT (Schools using Multiple Intelligences Theory) examined the performance of a number of schools and concluded that there has been significant increase in SAT scores, parents’ participation and discipline. Schools themselves attributed this to Multiple intelligence test.
Critique: Howard himself has pointed out some flaws and need for improvement like: notion of selfhood. He points it can also be seen from point of view of distributed cognition than just focusing on what goes inside a single individual’s mind.
Elizabeth Loftus has expertise in understanding memory. Her focus area was controversial nature of memory and that the memories are not always correct. The idea was that repressed memories can be false memories created by brain and not actual events.
She made some impactful experiments to prove falseness of memories. Most common study was “lost in a mall study”. Within this study she and her team asked children to recount time when they were lost in a mall. All children recreated very vivid details and descriptions of events that depicted the scenario. Only problem was: the events never happened.
Background: She got interested into the memory when she could not remember clearly a traumatic memory of her mother’s death.
Implications: Eye witness testimony is unreliable, it was proved by her studies. In fact, the way question is phrased can alter the memory recollection. False memories and confabulations can be easily created through suggestion.
Future: Supportive Study: In 1999 reforms directed police how to conduct eyewitness line-up. It promised to enhance eyewitness accuracy however they failed to materialize and made eyewitness role conservative.
Consequently, psychologists have tried for better procedures for collecting identification evidence and evaluating them using measures based on the ratio of correct to false identification rates like sequential vs simultaneous line ups and ROC analysis.