Eyewitness Testimony :
Anxiety
Johnson and Scott ( 19767
Anxiety has a
negative effect
Procedure
participants sat in a
waiting room believing they were
going to take
part in a lab study .
low waiting
•
anxiety condition heard conversation
participants a casual and then saw a man walk
through the
-
room with on his hands
carrying a
pen grease
•
high anxiety condition a heated argument was accompanied by the sound
of breaking glass A man then
-
.
'
walked covered
'
through the room
holding a knife in blood .
weapon focus
to the 50
participants were rater asked pick man
from a set of photographs
Findings and conclusion
49%
of participants in the low anxiety condition and 33% of high anxiety condition participants were
- -
Able to identify the man
the tunnel
for
'
theory of memory argues that people have enhanced memory central events .
weapon
'
as result can have effect
focus a
of anxiety this .
Yuille and Cutshall ( 1986) Anxiety has a
positive effect
Procedure
In an actual shot dead there were 21 witnesses 13 to
crime a
gun shop owner a
theif agreed participate
- .
,
in the study .
Participants winter viewed 4- 5 months
were
after the incident .
The
information recalled was compared to
the
police interviewers at the time
of the shooting .
Witnesses how stressed at the twine the incident
rated
they felt of
.
Findings and conclusions
witnesses were accurate little 5
very in what
they recalled and there was
change after months
some details were less accurate ceg :
height
participants who reported the
highest level stress were most accurate ( about 88% compared
of
to 751
for
the less stressed
group)
.
Anxiety doesn't appear to reduce the
accuracy of EWT
for
a real -
world event Ana
may even
enhance it .
Explaining the contradictory findings
1. Inverted -
U theory
Yerkes and Dodson C. 19087 argue the relationship between and in
that
performance stress an
inverted V.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller riannapatel5. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.87. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.