factors affecting accuracy of EWT - anxiety

Question 1

how can anxiety affect EWT?

Answer 1

anxiety creates physiological arousal in the body which prevents us from paying attention to important cues, which makes recall worse

Question 2

is anxiety positive or negative for EWT?

Answer 2

anxiety can have either a
positive or negative effect on the accuracy of EWT

Question 3

who researched anxiety negatively affecting EWT?

Answer 3

Johnson and Scott

Question 4

outline Johnson and Scott’s aim

Answer 4

to study the effects of the anxiety caused by weapon being present, on the accuracy of EWT

Question 5

outline Johnson and Scott’s procedure

Answer 5

• lab experiment
• ppt’s split into 2 conditions
• ppt told to wait in reception area, whilst receptionist excuses herself to run an errand, leaving ppt alone
  condition 1: ‘no weapon’
• ppt’s overheard a convo in the lab about equipment failure
• an individual left the lab and walked past the ppt, holding a pen covered in grease
  condition 2: ‘weapon’
• ppt’s overheard heated exchange + sound of breaking glass + crashing chairs
• followed by an individual running into reception area, holding a knife covered in blood

ppt’s later asked to identify man from 50 photos

Question 6

outline Johnson and Scott’s findings

Answer 6

• ppt’s in C1 were 49% accurate in identifying
• ppt’s in C2 were 33% accurate in identifying
  concluded that anxiety had narrowed focus of attention, making recall less accurate

Question 7

who researched anxiety positively affecting EWT?

Answer 7

Yuille and Cutshall

Question 8

outline Yuille and Cutshall’s research

Answer 8

• followed up 13 EW’s, 5 months after a real-life shooting at a shop in Canada
• researchers found that EW accuracy was still high after this period, with an 11% higher accuracy of recall for those eyewitnesses who ranked their anxiety as ‘high’ (compared to ‘low’) at
  the time of the shooting and using a 7-point anxiety scale.
• this supports the idea that heightened anxiety draws our attention to external cues through the ‘fight or flight’ response, where such attention may have given us an evolutionary advantage by increasing our chances of escaping and survival

Question 9

who proposed an inverted ‘U’ hypothesis?

Answer 9

Yerkes and Dodson

Question 10

what is the inverted ‘U’ hypothesis?

Answer 10

• suggested an ‘inverted-U’ hypothesis for the relationship between anxiety and the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
• according to this hypothesis, a moderate amount of anxiety produces the most accurate and detailed eyewitness testimony.
• however, too much or too little anxiety reduces the accuracy of the eyewitness testimony.

Question 11

evaluation: conflicting evidence (Pickel)

Answer 11

ID: there is conflicting evidence against Johnson and Scott’s research
Q: this means that there is evidence to suggest that weapon focus effect may not be a relevant factor in accuracy of EWT
EX: for example, Pickel conducted an experiment, showing ppt’s a video of a hair salon receptionist holding either scissors, a gun, a wallet or a raw chicken. he found that EWT was similarly poor for the chicken and the gun.
AN: this is a limitation as it suggests that weapon focus may be down to unusualness, rather than anxiety, causing the inaccuracy in recall

Question 12

evaluation: ethical issues

Answer 12

ID: the research into the effects of anxiety on EWT have ethical issues
Q: this means that ppt’s were deceived about the nature of the experiment, and weren’t protected from psychological harm
EX: for example, Johnson and Scott’s research exposed ppt’s to a man holding a knife covered in blood. this may have caused ppt’s feelings of extreme anxiety and psychological harm. similarly Yuille and Cutshall forcing ppt’s to recall traumatic crimes which have occurred in the
past.
AN: this breaches the BPS guideline of the right of the participant to be
protected from psychological harm, meaning that a cost-benefit analysis would be needed to compare the associated ethical costs with the benefits of increased knowledge of the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT

Question 13

evaluation: research support (Loftus)

Answer 13

ID: despite this, there is research to support weapon focus
Q: this comes from Loftus, who concluded that anxiety, caused by a weapon, can affect the focus of attention
EX: for example, he found that the presence of a weapon causes eye movements to be drawn towards the weapon, and away from other details such as the criminal’s face
AN: this is a strength, as it support Johnson and Scott’s findings that anxiety caused by a weapon, decreases EW accuracy, therefore increasing the external validity of the findings