Factors Affecting the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety Flashcards
Who proposed that anxiety has a negative effect on eyewitness testimony?
Johnson and Scott (1976)
Who proposed that anxiety has a positive effect on eyewitness testimony?
Guillermo and Cutshall (1986)
What was the procedure of Johnson and Scott (1976)?
- Participants sat in waiting room believing they were going into lab
- Each heard an argument in the next room
- Two conditions: Man walked out carrying a pen with greasy hands or a man walked out with paper knife covered in blood after a sound of a glass breaking
- Participants had to pick the man from a set of 50 photographs
Which condition of Johnson and Scott (1976) was showing low-anxiety?
Man walking out with greasy hands holding a pen
Which condition of Johnson and Scott (1976) showed high-anxiety?
The sound of the glass breaking then a man walking it with a paper knife covered in blood
What are the findings of Johnson and Scott (1976)?
- 49% able to identify the man in low-anxiety condition
- 33% able to identify the man in high-anxiety conditions
What is the conclusion of Johnson and Scott (1976) study?
- The tunnel theory of memory
- Witness focus on the weapon (Weapon focus) due to being a source of danger and anxiety
What was the procedure of Yuille and Cutshall (1986)?
- Real life crime
- Gun-shop owner shot a thief dead
- 13/21 participated in study
- Interviewed 4/5 months after incident
- Compared to police interview at the time of shooting
- Witness rated how stressed at time of incident
What was the findings of Yuille and Cutshall (1986)?
- Very accurate
- Little change after 5 months
- Some details less accurate e.g colours of items, age or weight etc.
What is the conclusion of Yuille and Cutshall (1986)?
Participants who had a higher stress level were most accurate
What does the inverted U theory state?
That performance will increase with stress, but only up to a certain point where it will dramatically decreases
Who proposed the inverted U theory?
Yerkes and Dodson (1908)
What did Deffenbacher (1983) find?
That lower levels of anxiety did produce lower levels of recall accuracy, however they higher level of anxiety has an optimum before it falls
What are the limitation of Johnson and Scott (1976) study?
- May be testing surprise not anxiety
- Weapon focus effect is due to unusualness rather than anxiety
- So the study may not suggest anything about anxiety on eyewitness testimony
Who studied into eyewitness testimony and unusualness of objects?
Pickle (1998)
