Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety Flashcards
Who did research into Anxiety having a negative effect on EWT?
Johnson and Scott
Describe Johnson and Scotts research and what they found
participants in a waiting room, a staged argument in the room next door.
high anxiety condition: paper knife and fake blood and broken glass sound. this condition led to worse recall (tunnel theory of memory)
Who did research into Anxiety having a positive effect on EWT?
Yulie and Cutshaw
Describe Yulie and Cutshaws research and what they found
real life shooting in a shop in Vancouver Canada. they interviewed participants 4-5 months after the crime occurred. this was compared with original police interviews. also rated stress on a 7 point scale.
witnesses were accurate in accounts 99% for high stress score and 70% for less stress.
who applied the Yerks Dodgson law to find contradictory findings?
Deffenbatcher
What did Deffenbatcher conclude?
lower levels of anxiety produces lower accuracy of recall but as anxiety increases level of memory increases.
point reached where optimum anxiety reached.
Describe why weapon focus may not be relevant? (AO3)
may test surprise rather than anxiety.
Pickel: video of a hair salon and found EWT decreased in unusual situations eg. raw chicken or a handgun present.
Describe why using a field study is a limitation of this research (Anxiety positive effect) (AO3)
eye witnesses interviewed 4-5 months after event occurred. researcher had no control over post event discussion etc. extraneous variables may also alter accuracy of recall.
Describe the ethical issues surrounding Johnson and Scotts research. (AO3)
creating anxiety in participants is risky as it can potentially cause psychological harm. easier to use real life crimes that have already occurred.
benefits of the research may outweigh the issues?
