Two experiments are reported in which subjects viewed films of automobile accidents
and then answered questions about events occurring in the films. The question, About
how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other? elicited higher estimates
of speed than questions which used the verbs collided, bumped, contucted, or hit in place of
smashed. On a retest one week later, those subjects who received the verb smashed were
more likely to say yes to the question, Did you see any broken glass?, even though
broken glass was not present in the film. These results are consistent with the view that the
questions asked subsequent to an event can cause a reconstruction in ones memory of that
event.