L11 - Anxiety and Eyewitness Testimony Flashcards
what is ANXIETY?
ANXIETY is a STATE OF APPREHENSION, UNCERTAINTY AND FEAR, resulting from a THREATENING SITUATION.
When ANXIETY IS HIGH it can often IMPAIR BOTH PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING.
what have psychologists said about anxiety and EWT?
SEVERAL PSYCHOLOGISTS have SUGGESTED that the ANXIETY THAT OCCURS WHEN WITNESSING A CRIME can PREVENT ACCURATE AND DETAILED RECALL OF THAT CRIME.
what is the WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT in relation to ANXIETY?
The PRESENCE OF A WEAPON DURING A CRIME INCREASES ANXIETY and therefore COULD IMPAIR WITNESSES’ MEMORY OF THE CRIME.
People who observe a VIOLENT CRIME will often PAY ATTENTION TO the aspect of the situation that is MOST THREATENING and this tends to be the WEAPON.
This means that witnesses to a VIOLENT CRIME INVOLVING A WEAPON can often describe a CRIMINAL’S WEAPON IN GREAT DETAIL, but they CANNOT RECALL MUCH ABOUT THE CRIMINAL THEMSELVES
This is called the WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT
STUDY INTO WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT (LOFTUS - AIM)
LOFTUS wanted to see whether ANXIETY AFFECTED A PERSON’S ABILITY TO RECOGNISE THE PERPETRATOR OF A CRIME.
STUDY INTO WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT (LOFTUS - PROCEDURE, EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION)
In the EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION, LOFTUS arranged for pps to OVERHEAR A HEATED AND HOSTILE ARGUMENT BETWEEN 2 PEOPLE. They also heard the SOUNDS OF FURNITURE BEING OVERTURNED AND BROKEN GLASS, then a MAN EMERGED CARRYING A LETTER OPENER COVERED IN BLOOD
STUDY INTO WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT (LOFTUS - PROCEDURE, CONTROL CONDITION)
In the CONTROL CONDITION, pps OVERHEARD A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE ABOUT A LABORATORY EQUIPMENT FAILURE before a MAN WITH GREASE ALL OVER HIS HANDS EMERGED CARRYING A PEN.
STUDY INTO WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT (LOFTUS - PROCEDURE, TASK)
PPS were then ASKED TO IDENTIFY THE PERSON they had JUST SEEN from 50 PHOTOS
STUDY INTO WEAPON FOCUS EFFECT (LOFTUS - FINDINGS)
ONLY 33% of the pps in the BLOODY LETTER OPENER condition identified the man CORRECTLY
Whereas 49% of the pps in the PEN CONDITION identified the man CORRECTLY.
LOFTUS ARGUED that this occurred because people IN THE FORMER CONDITION had FOCUSED ON THE BLOODY LETTER OPENER RATHER THAN THE PERSON CARRYING IT, because the letter opener was a WEAPON that COULD POSE A THREAT TO THEM
+ RESEARCH SUPPORT (EVALUATION OF ANXIETY)
+ LOFTUS’ study is SUPPORTED BY OTHER RESEARCH STUDIES.
LOFTUS AND BURNS ALLOCATED pps into ONE OF TWO CONDITIONS: one group WATCHED A VIOLENT SHORT FILM where a BOY WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD. The other group watched a NON VIOLENT SHORT FILM OF A CRIME.
Pps were LESS ACCURATE in RECALL when they saw the SHORT FILM WITH A GUN than those who watched the NON VIOLENT MOVIE
- LACKS ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY (EVALUATION OF ANXIETY)
- LOFTUS’ STUDY LACKS ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY.
Although they were WAITING IN THE RECEPTION AREA OUTSIDE OF THE LABORATORY, they MAY HAVE ANTICIPATED that SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, which COULD HAVE AFFECTED THE ACCURACY OF THEIR JUDGEMENTS and the VALIDITY OF THE STUDY
- ETHICAL GUIDELINES (EVALUATION OF ANXIETY)
- LOFTUS’ study VIOLATED NUMEROUS ETHICAL GUIDELINES.
The pps were DECEIVED about the NATURE OF THE EXPERIMENT and WERE NOT PROTECTED FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM. The pps were EXPOSED TO A MAN who they were led to believe had JUST KILLED SOMEONE, HOLDING A BLOODIED KNIFE, which could have caused them EXTREME DISTRESS.
Pps may have left the experiment feeling EXCEPTIONALLY STRESSED and maybe even TRAUMATISED.
- YUILLE AND CUTSHALL (EVALUATING ANXIETY) PT 1
- YUILLE AND CUTSHALL investigated the EFFECT OF ANXIETY in a REAL LIFE SHOOTING, in which ONE PERSON WAS KILLED and ANOTHER SERIOUSLY WOUNDED.
21 WITNESSES WERE ORIGINALLY INTERVIEWED BY INVESTIGATING POLICE and 13 OF THESE WITNESSES, AGED BETWEEN 15-32, AGREED TO TAKE PART IN YUILLE AND CUTSHALL’S FOLLOW UP INTERVIEW FIVE MONTHS LATER
- YUILLE AND CUTSHALL (EVALUATING ANXIETY) PT 2
- The witnesses WERE ACCURATE IN THEIR EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS FIVE MONTHS LATER and LITTLE CHANGE was found in their TESTIMONY.
Furthermore, the witnesses AVOIDED LEADING QUESTIONS and those who had been MOST DISTRESSED at the time of the shooting gave the MOST ACCURATE ACCOUNT.
In real life cases, LEADING QUESTIONS and ANXIETY DO NOT AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY in the same way they do in the laboratory.
- INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES (EVALUATING ANXIETY)
- there are INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES in how ANXIETY AFFECTS MEMORY.
Some people actually have BETTER RECALL WHEN THEY ARE ANXIOUS.
CHRISTIANSON AND HUBINETTE CONDUCTED A RESEARCH STUDY using 110 REAL LIFE EYEWITNESSES who had WITNESSED ONE OF 22 BANK ROBBERIES.
Some were ONLOOKERS and some were BANK CLERKS who had been DIRECTLY THREATENED BY THE ROBBERS - it was found that VICTIMS WERE MORE ACCURATE THAN ONLOOKERS in their DESCRIPTION OF THE BANK ROBBERS
