Stress influencing EWT reliability Flashcards
Define “stress”.
The body’s reaction (physical, mental, emotional) to any change that requires a response
What is Yerkes-Dodson’s Law? (4 points)
It suggests that the effect of stress on the accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony (EWT) is an inverted U relationship
Low-stress state:
Low EWT accuracy - people have low motivation so their attentional mechanisms aren’t active
As stress levels increase, the accuracy of EWT increases up to an optimum level as cortisol levels increase selective attention
Al Absi (2002):
+ There comes a point when high cortisol levels cause the working memory to become less effective
+ This causes EWT accuracy to decline
What are the 2 supporting and 3 refuting arguments for stress impacting EWT accuracy?
Supporting:
Valentine & Mesout
Kramer et al
Refuting:
Steblay’s (1992) meta-analysis
Issues of consistent operationalising
Bothwell et al (1987)
How does Valentine and Mesout support stress impacting EWT accuracy? (4 points)
They got a ‘scary person’ to step out in front of participants touring the London Dungeons
17% of those who scored above the median state anxiety correctly identified the scary person
75% of those who scored below the median state anxiety correctly identified the scary person
High anxiety reduces the accuracy of EWT
How does Kramer et al support stress impacting EWT accuracy? (2 points)
They exposed subjects to images of murder victims as a traumatic stimulus
Found that overall memory of the images was poorer - elevated levels of stress reduce recall accuracy
How does Steblay’s (1992) meta-analysis challenge stress impacting EWT accuracy? (2 points)
Consistent conclusions found between studies using videos (moderate stress) and staged events (high stress)
This suggests that the reduced accuracy of EWT isn’t a result of increased stress
How do issues of consistent operationalising challenge stress impacting EWT accuracy? (4 points)
When measuring the accuracy of EWTs, the definition of fear, arousal, stress, and anxiety and how they are measured in studies within a meta-analysis is not standardised
An increased state of alertness is a different emotion from anxiety
Within the Yerkes-Dodson effect (inverted U), anxiety is considered in terms of physical arousal
This is not an accurate measure of anxiety as it is a combination of cognitive, behavioural, emotional and physical elements
How does Bothwell et al (1987) challenge stress impacting EWT accuracy? (4 points)
They found that as stress increased, ‘stable’ participants showed rising levels of EWT accuracy whereas neurotic participants’ accuracy for EWT decreased
Arousal theory is linked to the fight or flight response
Neurotics’ sympathetic nervous system is stimulated by lesser stimuli than more stable individuals
Stable people are calm under stressful situations as they have high activation thresholds
