● A01 Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony
Eyewitness Testimony: Legal term referring to an account given by people of an
event they’ve witnessed. Including : identification of perpetrators, details of the
crime scene
Anxiety: An unpleasant state of emotional and physical arousal in stressful
situations
● A01 Anxiety
1. Yerkes and Dodson (1908) argue that the relationship between accuracy of
eyewitness testimony and arousal/stress is curvilinear rather than linear, an
inverted U relationship.
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.
Johnson and Scott (1976) : Aim: If anxiety affects the accuracy of eyewitness
testimony and facial recognition.
Johnson and Scott invited participants to a laboratory where they were told to wait in the
reception area. A receptionist who was seated nearby excused herself to run an errand,
leaving the participant alone. The experiment used an independent groups design, as
participants were then exposed to one of two conditions:
1) In the ‘no-weapon’ condition, participants overheard a conversation in the laboratory
about equipment failure. Thereafter an individual (the target) left the laboratory and
walked past the participant holding a pen, with his hands covered in grease.
2) In the ‘weapon’ condition, participants overheard a heated exchange and the sound of
breaking glass and crashing chairs. This was followed by an individual (the target)
running into the reception area, holding a bloodied letter opener.
Both groups were then shown 50 photographs and ask to identify the person who had left
the laboratory. The participants were informed that the suspect may, or may not be
present in the photographs.
Findings: 49% participants low anxiety identified man
33% participants high anxiety identified man
Conclusion: This supports the tunnel theory of memory, focus is narrowed to the
weapon because it is a source of anxiety, this reduces the accuracy of eyewitness
testimony.
Eyewitness Testimony: Legal term referring to an account given by people of an
event they’ve witnessed. Including : identification of perpetrators, details of the
crime scene
Anxiety: An unpleasant state of emotional and physical arousal in stressful
situations
● A01 Anxiety
1. Yerkes and Dodson (1908) argue that the relationship between accuracy of
eyewitness testimony and arousal/stress is curvilinear rather than linear, an
inverted U relationship.
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.
Johnson and Scott (1976) : Aim: If anxiety affects the accuracy of eyewitness
testimony and facial recognition.
Johnson and Scott invited participants to a laboratory where they were told to wait in the
reception area. A receptionist who was seated nearby excused herself to run an errand,
leaving the participant alone. The experiment used an independent groups design, as
participants were then exposed to one of two conditions:
1) In the ‘no-weapon’ condition, participants overheard a conversation in the laboratory
about equipment failure. Thereafter an individual (the target) left the laboratory and
walked past the participant holding a pen, with his hands covered in grease.
2) In the ‘weapon’ condition, participants overheard a heated exchange and the sound of
breaking glass and crashing chairs. This was followed by an individual (the target)
running into the reception area, holding a bloodied letter opener.
Both groups were then shown 50 photographs and ask to identify the person who had left
the laboratory. The participants were informed that the suspect may, or may not be
present in the photographs.
Findings: 49% participants low anxiety identified man
33% participants high anxiety identified man
Conclusion: This supports the tunnel theory of memory, focus is narrowed to the
weapon because it is a source of anxiety, this reduces the accuracy of eyewitness
testimony.
