Memory- Factors Affecting The Accuracy Of Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety Flashcards
Anxiety -
A state of emotional and physical arousal. The emotions include having worried thoughts and feelings of tension. Physical changes include an increased heart rate and sweatiness. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations, but can affect the accuracy and detail of eyewitness testimony.
What are the emotional and physical effects of anxiety?
Memory conformity occurs when witnesses adopt or incorporate details from others’ accounts into their own memories during post-event discussion, often to gain social approval or because they believe others are correct.
How does anxiety negatively affect recall?
Anxiety creates physiological arousal that prevents paying attention to important cues, leading to worse recall. For example, the presence of weapons, which induce anxiety, can reduce the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
What did Johnson and Scott (1976) study regarding anxiety and eyewitness testimony?
Participants believed they were in a lab study and overheard an argument. In the low-anxiety condition, a man walked through with a pen and grease on his hands. In the high-anxiety condition, a man walked out holding a blood-covered knife. Later, participants identified the man from photos: 49% in the low-anxiety condition and 33% in the high-anxiety condition succeeded.
What is the tunnel theory of memory?
The tunnel theory argues that a witness’s attention narrows to focus on a weapon, a source of anxiety, which reduces recall of other details.
How does anxiety positively affect recall?
Anxiety from witnessing a crime or accident triggers the fight-or-flight response, increasing alertness and improving memory for the event by making individuals more aware of situational cues.
What did Yuille and Cutshall (1986) study regarding anxiety and recall in a real-life event?
They studied a real-life shooting in a gun shop with 21 witnesses. Interviews conducted 4-5 months later showed high accuracy, with stressed witnesses (88% accuracy) being more accurate than less-stressed witnesses (75% accuracy).
What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law, and how does it relate to anxiety and recall?
The Yerkes-Dodson Law states that performance and emotional arousal follow an inverted-U relationship. Lower anxiety leads to lower recall accuracy, but accuracy improves as anxiety increases up to an optimal point. Beyond this point, recall declines drastically.
What is a limitation of the weapon focus effect in anxiety research?
The weapon focus effect may test surprise rather than anxiety. Pickel (1998) found that unusual items (e.g., a raw chicken or handgun) reduced accuracy, suggesting the effect is due to unusualness, not anxiety or threat.
What is a limitation of field studies on anxiety and eyewitness testimony?
Field studies lack control over extraneous variables, such as post-event discussions, media exposure, or police interviews, which may affect recall accuracy and overwhelm the effects of anxiety.
What ethical issues arise in anxiety research?
Creating anxiety in participants is risky and potentially unethical, as it may cause psychological harm. Real-life studies are beneficial because they involve witnesses of actual events, avoiding the need to induce anxiety.
Why might the inverted-U explanation of anxiety and recall be too simplistic?
Anxiety is difficult to define and measure, as it involves cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical elements. The inverted-U theory focuses only on physiological arousal, ignoring other factors that may influence recall.
How might demand characteristics affect lab studies on anxiety and recall?
Participants in lab studies may realize they are watching a staged crime and expect to be questioned, which could influence their responses and accuracy. This awareness may lead to over- or under-reporting details.
