2. MEMORY (Anxiety as a factor affecting the accuracy of EWT) Flashcards
What is anxiety, and how can it affect Eyewitness Testimony (EWT)?
Anxiety is a state of emotional and physical arousal, including worried thoughts, tension, and physical changes like an increased heart rate and sweating. High levels of anxiety can reduce the accuracy of EWT, as stress can impair recall and detail retention.
What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law?
The Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that moderate anxiety leads to better recall, while very high or very low anxiety levels reduce performance and recall accuracy.
What is “weapon focus” in the context of anxiety and EWT?
Weapon focus refers to the phenomenon where a witness’ attention is concentrated on a weapon during a crime due to anxiety and fear for their safety, leading to a lack of focus on other important details like the appearance of the perpetrator.
What was the aim and method of Johnson and Scott’s (1976) study?
The aim was to investigate whether the presence of a weapon (causing anxiety) affects EWT accuracy. Participants overheard an argument and then saw a man either holding a pen (low anxiety) or a knife (high anxiety). They later had to identify the man from photographs.
What were the results and conclusion of Johnson and Scott’s (1976) study?
Results showed that participants in the high anxiety (knife) condition were less accurate (33%) in identifying the man compared to those in the low anxiety (pen) condition (49%). The study concluded that weapon focus reduces the accuracy of EWT due to anxiety
What is a strength of Johnson and Scott’s study?
A strength is that it was a lab experiment with high control over extraneous variables, allowing for confident conclusions that weapon focus (due to anxiety) reduces the accuracy of EWT.
What is a limitation of Johnson and Scott’s study?
A limitation is its low ecological validity because the participants watched a staged scenario rather than experiencing a real crime, meaning the findings may not generalize to real-life situations.
What is the practical application of anxiety research on EWT?
Research on anxiety and EWT has practical applications in law enforcement. It suggests that police should be cautious when interviewing anxious witnesses, especially in crimes involving weapons, to prevent distorted testimony.
What role do individual differences play in EWT accuracy under anxiety?
Individual differences, such as emotional sensitivity, affect the accuracy of EWT. For example, neurotic individuals (more prone to anxiety) may show decreased accuracy under stress, while stable individuals may become more accurate as stress increases.
What was the aim and method of Yuille and Cutshall’s (1986) study?
The aim was to investigate the effect of anxiety on EWT accuracy in a real-life shooting incident. 13 witnesses were interviewed 4-5 months after the event and were asked follow-up questions, including two misleading ones.
What were the results and conclusion of Yuille and Cutshall’s (1986) study?
Yuille and Cutshall found that the most distressed witnesses (e.g., those with nightmares) had the most accurate recall (88%), compared to less distressed witnesses (75%). They concluded that anxiety did not reduce the accuracy of EWT in real-life situations.
What is a strength of Yuille and Cutshall’s (1986) study?
A strength is its high ecological validity, as it used real-life witnesses from a shooting incident, providing more realistic and generalizable findings about anxiety and EWT.
What is a limitation of Yuille and Cutshall’s (1986) study?
A limitation is its small sample size (13 participants), which reduces population validity and makes it difficult to generalize the findings to the broader population.
How do the findings of Yuille and Cutshall (1986) challenge other studies on anxiety and EWT?
Yuille and Cutshall’s study contradicts other research, such as Johnson and Scott’s, by showing that anxiety does not always reduce the accuracy of EWT. In fact, those who were more distressed were the most accurate in their recall.
How do real-life and lab-based studies on anxiety and EWT differ in their findings?
Lab-based studies like Johnson and Scott’s suggest that anxiety negatively affects EWT accuracy, while real-life studies like Yuille and Cutshall’s show that anxiety may have no significant effect or may even improve recall in certain cases.
