Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety Flashcards
(13 cards)
Anxiety
Anxiety is a state of emotional and physical arousal caused by stressful or frightening situations, often accompanied by physical changes, e.g., an increased heart rate. It is a normal reaction to stressful situations, but can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony by influencing the witness’s attention and memory. High levels of anxiety may cause individuals to focus their attention narrowly on a central detail, such as a weapon, which can reduce their ability to accurately recall other important information like the perpetrator’s appearance. However, anxiety can sometimes enhance memory because moderate levels of arousal increase alertness and focus.
Effect on recall
Anxiety can either have a positive or negative effect on recall.
Who studied the positive effect of anxiety on recall?
Yuille and Cutshall - Fight or Flight Response
Who studied the negative effect of anxiety on recall?
Johnson and Scott - Weapon Focus Effect
Yuille and Cutshall - Aim
To investigate the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony in a real-life crime and to see whether high levels of anxiety improve or impair the accuracy of recall.
Yuille and Cutshall - Procedure
Real-life event:
- The study was based on a real-life shooting in Vancouver, Canada.
- A gun shop owner shot and killed a thief in front of witnesses.
- There were originally 21 witnesses who were interviewed by the police but 13 witnesses, aged between 15 and 32, who agreed to take part in Yuille and Cutshall’s follow-up research interview.
Interview process:
- Researchers conducted interviews with the witnesses around 4-5 months after the event.
- They were asked to recount details of the event, including descriptions of the people, the crime scene, and the events leading up to and after the shooting.
- The interviews were compared to the original police statements taken immediately after the event.
- They gave their account of the incident, and then they were asked several questions, including two misleading questions. Half of the group was asked if they saw a broken headlight on the getaway car, the other half was asked if they saw a yellow panel on the car (the panel was actually blue).
Anxiety measurement:
- The witnesses were asked to rate their level of stress at the time of the event on a 7-point scale.
- They were also asked if they had experienced any emotional problems since the event, such as sleep disturbances.
Yuille and Cutshall - Findings
- The witnesses were very accurate in their recall, even after 4-5 months — with over 80% accuracy when compared to their original police statements
- All of the major details of their reports remained the same, only minor details, such as estimates of age, height and weight had changed.
- Witnesses who reported higher levels of stress at the time of the event were more accurate (about 88% accuracy) compared to those who reported lower stress levels (about 75% accuracy).
- Furthermore, misleading questions had no significant effect on accuracy.
Yuille and Cutshall - Conclusion
High levels of anxiety in a real-life setting can enhance the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, suggesting that emotional arousal may improve memory recall rather than impair it.
Anxiety has a negative effect on recall - Johnson and Scott (1976) - Weapon Focus Effect - Aim
To study was to investigate whether anxiety affects the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (EWT).
Anxiety has a negative effect on recall - Johnson and Scott (1976) - Weapon Focus Effect - Procedure
Johnson and Scott invited participants to a laboratory where they were told to wait in the reception area. The receptionist excused herself leaving the participant alone. In the ‘no weapon’ group the participant overheard a conversation about equipment failure then an individual left the laboratory passing the participant with a a pen in hand and his hands covered in grease. In the ‘weapon group’ the participants heard an altercation and the sound of breaking glass and chairs falling then an individual left running into the reception area holding a bloody letter opener. Both groups were then shown 50 photographs and asked 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.
Anxiety has a negative effect on recall - Johnson and Scott (1976) - Weapon Focus Effect - Findings
Those who had witnessed the man holding a pen correctly identified the suspect 49% of the time, compared to those who had witnessed the man holding a knife, who correctly identified the target 33% of the time. The participants who were exposed to the knife had higher levels of anxiety and were more likely to focus their attention on the weapon and not the face of the target, a phenomenon known as the weapon focus effect. Therefore, the anxiety associated with seeing a knife reduces the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
Anxiety has a negative effect on recall - Johnson and Scott (1976) - Weapon Focus Effect - Conclusion
Anxiety does have a negative effect on recall.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
The Yerkes-Dodson Law which was later developed and applied to eyewitness testimony by Deffenbacher
describes the relationship between arousal (anxiety) and performance. It suggests that performance improves with arousal up to a certain point, after which too much arousal impairs performance. This is often shown as an inverted U-shaped curve:
- Low anxiety = low performance (not alert or engaged enough).
- Moderate anxiety = optimal performance (focused but not overwhelmed).
- High anxiety = poor performance (stress impairs recall or ability to perform).
In the context of EWT, the Yerkes-Dodson Law helps explain conflicting findings in studies on anxiety:
- Moderate anxiety can improve memory accuracy (e.g., Yuille & Cutshall – real-life shooting).
- High anxiety can impair accuracy (e.g., Johnson & Scott – weapon focus effect).
Suggests there’s an optimal level of anxiety for the best recall — too little or too much reduces accuracy.
