Lesson 10 - EWT - Anxiety

Question 1

Define ‘anxiety’ in relation to EWT

Answer 1

A state of emotional and physical arousal.

Question 2

Yuille and Cutshall…

Answer 2

• Conducted a study of a shooting in a gun shop where a shop owner shot a thief dead.
• 13 eyewitnesses room part in the study, all interviewed 4-5 months after incident
• High anxiety produced better recall (88%) compared to low anxiety (75%).
• Supports positive effect of anxiety on recall.

Question 3

Johnson and Scott…

Answer 3

• Participants believed they were taking part in lab study with two conditions.
• One heard a casual conversation and saw a man come out holding a pen with grease on his hands and the other condition heard an argument + breaking glass and saw a man come out with a knife and bloody hands.
• High anxiety produced lower recall (33%) than low anxiety (49%).
• Supports negative effect of anxiety on recall.