Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony- Anxiety
Key terms
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.
The effects of anxiety
Anxiety has a negative effect on recall
- Anxiety creates physiological arousal in the body which prevents us
paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse.
- One approach to studying anxiety eyewitness testimony (EWT) has been
to look at the effect of weapons (which create anxiety) on accuracy of
recall of the witness.
Procedure
- Johnson and Scott led participants to believe they were going to take part
in a lab study.
- While seated in a waiting room, participants heard an argument in the
next room.
- In the low anxiety condition, a man walked through the waiting area
holding a pen and with grease on his hands.
- In the high anxiety condition, other participants overheard the same
heated argument, but this time accompanied by the sound of breaking
glass.
- A man walked out holding a paper knife that was covered in blood.
Findings
- The participants later picked out the man from a set of 50 photos; 49% of
the participants who had seen the man carrying the pen were able to
identify him.
- The corresponding figure for the participants who had seen the man
holding the blood covered knife was 33%.
- The tunnel theory of memory argues that a witness’s attention narrows to
focus on a weapon, because it is a source of anxiety.
Anxiety has a positive effect on recall
- The stress of witnessing a crime or accident creates anxiety through
physiological arousal within the body.
- The fight or flight response is triggered, which increases our alertness and
improves our memory for the event because we become more aware of
cues in the situation.
Procedure
- John Yuille and Judith Cutshall conducted a study of real-life shooting in a
gun shop in Vancouver, Canada.
Key terms
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.
The effects of anxiety
Anxiety has a negative effect on recall
- Anxiety creates physiological arousal in the body which prevents us
paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse.
- One approach to studying anxiety eyewitness testimony (EWT) has been
to look at the effect of weapons (which create anxiety) on accuracy of
recall of the witness.
Procedure
- Johnson and Scott led participants to believe they were going to take part
in a lab study.
- While seated in a waiting room, participants heard an argument in the
next room.
- In the low anxiety condition, a man walked through the waiting area
holding a pen and with grease on his hands.
- In the high anxiety condition, other participants overheard the same
heated argument, but this time accompanied by the sound of breaking
glass.
- A man walked out holding a paper knife that was covered in blood.
Findings
- The participants later picked out the man from a set of 50 photos; 49% of
the participants who had seen the man carrying the pen were able to
identify him.
- The corresponding figure for the participants who had seen the man
holding the blood covered knife was 33%.
- The tunnel theory of memory argues that a witness’s attention narrows to
focus on a weapon, because it is a source of anxiety.
Anxiety has a positive effect on recall
- The stress of witnessing a crime or accident creates anxiety through
physiological arousal within the body.
- The fight or flight response is triggered, which increases our alertness and
improves our memory for the event because we become more aware of
cues in the situation.
Procedure
- John Yuille and Judith Cutshall conducted a study of real-life shooting in a
gun shop in Vancouver, Canada.
