factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: Anxiety Flashcards
define anxiety
a state of emotional and physical arousal
who conducted the procedure that anxiety has a negative effect on recall ?
Craig Johnson and William Scott
what was Johnson and Scott procedure ?
- ppt believed it was a lab study
- low - anxiety = argument man walks in with pen + grease
- high - anxiety - argument man walks in with pen + blood
what was Johnson and Scott findings ?
- picked out the man from a set of 50 photos
- low anxiety = 49% recall
- high anxiety = 33% recall
- tunnel theory = ppl have enhanced memory for central events - weapon focus
who conducted that anxiety has a positive effect on recall ?
Yuville and Custshaall
what was Yuvile ad Custshall procedure ?
- real life shooting in gun shop in Canada
- 21 witnesses - 13 ppts
4-5 months after incident asked to rate stress on scale
what was the findings of Yuille and Cutshall ?
high stress = 88%
low stress = 75%
- anxiety does not have a determinable effect on the accuracy of the EWM
who explained the contradictory findings ?
Yerkes and Dodson
- inverted U theory - the performance will increase with stress but only to a certain point, where it decreases drastically
evaluation - how is support for negative effects a strength ?
P - anxiety has a negative effect on the accuracy of recall
E - Tim Valentine and Jan Mesout - used an objective measure (heart rate) to divide ppt into high and low anxiety groups
E - anxiety clearly disrupted the ppt avility to recall detasils abt the actor
L - high level of anxiety does have a negative effect on the recall of a stressful event
evaluation - weapon focus effect may not be relevant - limitation
P - may not have tested anxiety
E - Pickel conducted experiment with scissors, gun, wallet and raw chicken
E - EWT less accurate in the high unusualness conditions
L - weapon focus effect is due to unusualness rather than threat
