factors affecting the accuracy of EWT - anxiety

Question 1

explain weapon focus

Answer 1

presence of weapon creates anxiety so they focus on weapon & reduces witnesses recall for other events

Question 2

who researched how anxiety has a negative effect on recall - weapon focus

Answer 2

johnson & scott (1976)

Question 3

describe the research for how anxiety has a negative effect on recall (weapon focus) - procedure

Answer 3

• ppts. believed they were taking part in a lab study
• while seated in waiting room, ppts. in low anxiety condition heard casual conversation & then saw a man walk past with a pen/grease on his hands
• while seated in waiting room, ppts. in high anxiety condition overheard a heated argument, alongside sound of breaking glass & a man walked out the room holding a knife covered in blood

Question 4

describe the research for how anxiety has a negative effect on recall (weapon focus) - findings/conclusions

Answer 4

• ppts. later picked out the man from a set of 50 photos
  –> 49% who’d saw the pen were able to identify him
  –> 33% who’d saw the knife/blood were able to identify him
• tunnel theory of memory argues people have an enhanced memory for central events –> weapon focus due to anxiety can have this effect

Question 5

who researched how anxiety has a positive effect on recall

Answer 5

yuille & cutshall (1986)

Question 6

describe the research for how anxiety has a positive effect on recall - procedure

Answer 6

• conducted study of actual shooting in a gun shop in vancouver, canada
• shop owner shot a thief dead
• there were 21 witnesses –> 13 participated in study
• interviewed 4-5 months after & these were compared to original police interviews at time of shooting
• accuracy was determined by no. of details reported in each account
• witnesses also asked to rate how stressed they felt on 7-point scale & if they’ve had emotional problems since event

Question 7

describe the research for how anxiety has a positive effect on recall - findings/conclusion

Answer 7

• witnesses were very accurate in accounts & there was little change in amount recalled/accuracy after 5 months
• some details were less accurate eg. colour of items, age/height/weight estimates
• those who reported highest levels of stress = most accurate
• suggests anxiety doesn’t have a detrimental effect on accuracy of EWT in real-world context & may enhance it

Question 8

explaining contradictory findings ^

Answer 8

1. yerkes & dodson (1908) - relationship between emotional arousal & performance = ‘inverted U’
2. deffenbacher (1983) reviewed 21 studies of EWT & noted contradictory findings on effects of anxiety
   - used yerkes-dodson law to explain findings

Question 9

explain the yerkes-dodson law

Answer 9

• when we witness a crime/accident = emotionally & physically aroused –> anxiety (emotional) & physiological changes (eg. fight or flight response)
• lower levels of anxiety/arousal = lower levels of recall accuracy –> becomes more accurate as anxiety increases
• however, there’s an optimal level of anxiety = max. accuracy
• any more arousal = recall suffers drastic decline

Question 10

evaluation of factors affecting EWT - anxiety AO3

Answer 10

-)
P: (study by johnson & scott) may not have tested anxiety
E: reason participants focused on weapon may be due to them being surprised at what they saw not scared. pickel (1998) conducted an experiment using scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as hand-held items in a hairdressing salon vid. EWT accuracy was significantly lower in high unusualness conditions eg. chicken/handgun
T: weapon focus effect is due to unusualness not anxiety/threat & thus, tells us nothing specifically about effects of anxiety on EWT

+)
P: evidence supporting view that anxiety has negative effect on recall
E: valentine & mesout (2009) supports weapon focus research which finds negative effects on recall. researchers used objective measure (HR) to divide ppts. into high/low anxiety groups. in the study, anxiety clearly disrupted ppts. ability to recall details about actor in london dungeon’s labyrinth
T: suggests high level of anxiety does have a negative effect on immediate EW recall from stressful event

+)
P: evidence showing that anxiety can have positive effects on recall
E: christianson & hubinette (1993) interviewed 58 witnesses to actual bank robberies in sweden. some were directly involved & some indirectly. researchers assumed those directly involved would experience higher anxiety & it was found recall was more than 75% accurate across all witnesses. direct victims even more accurate.
T: findings from actual crimes confirm that anxiety can have a positive effect & doesn’t reduce recall accuracy
-) COUNTERPOINT
P: christianson & hubinette interviewed their ppts several months after (4-15 months).
E: they, thus, didn’t have any control over what happened to ppts in intervening time. effects of anxiety may have been overwhelmed by these factors & impossible to assess by the time the ppts were interviewed
T: therefore, it is possible that a lack of control over confounding variables may be responsible for findings which invalidates their support