Anxiety And EWT Flashcards
How does anxiety have a negative effect on recall (weapon focus)
The presence of a weapon which creates anxiety. This leads to a focus on the weapon, reducing a witness’s recall for other details of the event.
What is the research method for anxiety being a negative effect on recall?
Johnson and Scott had their pps believe they were part of a lab study. Saw a man walk past with a pen and with grease in his hands. Other pps overhead a heated argument by the sound of breaking glass, a man walked out the room holding a knife covered in blood was the high anxiety condition.
What are findings and conclusion of anxiety having a negative effect on recall (weapon focus)?
Pps picked out the man from a set of 50 photos. 49% who had seen the man carrying a pen were able to identify him. 33% for those in the high anxiety condition. The tunnel theory supports this.
What is the tunnel theory?
The tunnel theory argues that people have enhanced memory for central events. Weapon focus as a result of anxiety can have this effect.
How does anxiety have a positive effect on recall?
Witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety through physiological arousal within the body. The fight or flight response is triggered increasing alertness, this may improve memory for the event we become more aware of cues in the situation.
What is the research method for anxiety having a positive effect on EWT?
Yuille and Cutshall conducted a study of an actual shooting in a gun shop in Vancouver Canada. The shop owner shot a thief dead. There were 21 witnesses- 13 took part in the study. Witnesses were also asked to rate how stressed there were at the time of the incident and whether they had emotional problems post incident.
What are the findings and conclusion of yuille and cutshalls study?
Witnesses were very accurate in their accounts and there was little change in the amount recalled after five months. Those pps who reported the highest levels of stress were most accurate. This suggest that anxiety does not have a detrimental effect on the accuracy of EWT irl.
