16. Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety AO3

Question 1

Name a limitation of field studies

Answer 1

Lack of control of variables - real life witnesses are interviewed some time after event - many things happen to them in the meantime that researchers can’t control

Question 2

Why is lack of control an issue for field studies

Answer 2

Extraneous variables may be responsible for inaccurate recall not anxiety - difficult to isolate variables to one explanation

Question 3

Name a limitation of anxiety in EWT

Answer 3

Ethical issues - creating anxiety in participants is potentially unethical - may subject people to psychological harm purely for research purposes

Question 4

Why are real life studies beneficial

Answer 4

Psychologists interview people who have already witnessed an even so there’s no need to create one

Question 5

What is the main issue with finding ethical issues

Answer 5

They don’t challenge the findings of studies but they do raise questions about conducting such research

Question 6

Name a final limitation of lab studies of anxiety

Answer 6

Demand characteristics - most participants in controlled lab studies are aware they’re watching a staged crime - may work out what they’ll be asked - give responses they believe to be helpful

Question 7

What do demand characteristics mean for the validity of research

Answer 7

The research isn’t measuring the accuracy of EWT - reduces validity of research investigating effects of anxiety