Loftus&Loftus: Weapon Focus (Witnesses) Flashcards
What is the weapon effect?
The theory that eye witnesses will focus on a weapon involved when recalling a crime scene
Aim?
To see if subjects spend more time focussing on a weapon than an ambiguous object during an interaction and if this provides support for the “weapon focus” effect.
PPs?
36 students aged 18-31 years from Washington UNI
- half recruited through an advert offering $3.50
- half offered psychology credits
- believed it was about ‘proactive interference’
Method?
Lab experiment
Procedure?
-All shown 18 slides, each for 1.5 seconds, of moving through a queue at a Tacos restaurant
•control group shown person B handing cheque to cashier
•experimental group shown person B pulling a gun on the cashier
- Given 20 multiple choice q’s, 7 relating to appearance of person B
- asked to identify B from 12 photos
- confidence rating (1=guess, 6= very sure)
- eye fixation measured to see which part of the slide they focussed on
Results?
- exp group= 51% less accuracy
- control group= 46% less accuracy
- no difference in confidence
- gun focussed for 3.72s, cheque 2.44s
Conclusion?
PPs focussed more on a weapon during an interaction leading them to be less able to identify; unreliable eye witness testimonies
Strengths?
- concurrent validity as 2nd exp with 80 students
- lab exp= standardised, high control, high internal validity
- supports PAS
- practical applications
- ethical
Weaknesses?
- small sample= lower reliability
- psychology students= d.c
- paid/given credits= motives?
- low ecological validity= lecture theatre rather than busy restaurant
- ethnocentric
Background: factors effecting recall
- Delay: how long ago did u see face
- Exposure Mode: did u see the face in a different context
- Stimulus variables: how meaningful is the face
- Subject variables: how good is your memory
