Eyewitness Testimony : Anxiety

Question 1

Who investigated Anxiety had a negative effect

Answer 1

Johnson and Scott

Question 2

Who investigated Anxiety has a positive effect

Answer 2

Yuille and Cutshall

Question 3

What were the conditions in Johnson and Scotts study

Answer 3

Low anxiety condition - casual convo, pen, grease
High anxiety condition - Heated argument, knife, blood

Question 4

Finding of the Johnson and Scotts study

Answer 4

high anxiety - 33%
low anxiety - 49%

Question 5

What theory did the Johnson and Scotts study establish

Answer 5

Tunnel theory of memory, weapon focus

Question 6

What were the conditions in Yuille and Cutshall study

Answer 6

Gun shop owner shot theif dead, witnesses interviewed 4-5 months later, compared info recalled to first interview

Question 7

Findings of the Yuille and Cutshall study

Answer 7

Very accurate in what was recalled
Highest stress reported - 88% accuracy, lowest 75%

Question 8

What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law and what does it state about performance

Answer 8

Inverted U- theory
States perforance increases with stress but only to a certain point

Question 9

Evaluation of EWT - Anxiety
- 2 Strengths
- 1 limitation

Answer 9

+ Supporting evidence for negative effects (Valentine, heartbeat, high less accurate in identifying person)
+ Supporting evidence for positive effects ( Christianson, bank robberies, direct victims more acute,most anxious)
- Anxiety may not be relevant to weapon focus (not anxious but surprised, Pickel found identifying suspect was least accurate when object being held was surprising)