Accuracy Of Eyewitness Testimony- Anxiety Flashcards
What is anxiety in EWT?
An emotional and physical state due to a stressful situation which increase worry and heart rate
Christianson & Hubinette Research (Aim,Method,Findings & Conclusion) Anxiety
AIM: whether anxiety can have a positive effect on EWT recall when the event causes a real threat to one’s life.
METHOD: 110 real life eyewitness who each witnessed bank robberies in Sweden. Some were onlookers, some were directly threatened by the robbers. Interviews were conducted 4-15 months after event
FINDINGS: showed good memories for detail of robbery. High anxiety witnesses had the best recall
CONCLUSION: Anxiety improves accuracy of EWT
Johnson & Scott Research (Aim,Method,Findings & Conclusion) Anxiety
AIM: whether anxiety affects accuracy of EWT and facial recognition
METHOD: pps invited to a lab and told to wait in reception area. Exposed to 1 of 2 conditions:
1 (No weapon)- pps overheard a convo in the lab about equipment failure. An individual left the lab walking past pps holding a pen and hands covered in grease.
2 (Weapon)- pps overheard a heated exchange and sound of breaking glass and crashing chairs. An individual ran into reception area holding a bloodied letter opener.
Both groups shown 50 photos to identify the person who left the lab.
FINDINGS: 49% of the time pps who witnessed the man holding a pen had identified him correctly whereas 33% of the time pps who witnessed the man holding the knife had identified him correctly.
CONCLUSION: pps exposed to the knife have high levels of anxiety and more likely to focus on weapon and not the face known as WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT. Reduces accuracy of EWT
Yerkes- Dodson’s Law
Low levels of anxiety produce low levels of recall accuracy but as levels of anxiety increases the recall accuracy also increases until the optimal level is reached. If it further increases memory is easily distorted due to high levels of stress therefore a decline in recall accuracy
