2.4.2 Eye witness testimony and anxiety of the witness

Question 1

How does anxiety affect an eyewitness?

Answer 1

Anxiety can have either a positive effect or a negative effect on an eyewitness. Being in a heightened state of physiological arousal (fight or flight) can enhance EWT.

Question 2

Which law can be applied to EWT and anxiety.

Answer 2

The Yerkes-Dodson law applies to EWT and anxiety, as too much arousal induced by anxiety can impair cognitive functions such as memory.

Question 3

Research support for EWT and anxiety?

Answer 3

/Yuille and Cutshall (1986) - participants who had been real-life eyewitnesses of a shooting were not misled by false information and leading questions (positive affect on memory)
/Loftus et al. (1987) - participants who saw a picture of a customer in a restaurant holding a gun were less likely to identify that same customer in an identity parade than participants who had seen him with a check-book (negative effect on memory)

Question 4

Evaluation of EWT and anxiety research?

Answer 4

/Yuille and Cutshall (1986) - this research used a sample of 13 participants who had witnessed a unique event which means that it cannot be replicated due to its uniqueness plus the findings cannot be generalised
/Loftus et al. (1987) - the participants may simply have been surprised to see a gun in the customer’s hand which would mean that weapon focus effect is not a valid conclusion to draw from the findings