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Description
Mind Map by Alicja Klak, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Alicja Klak
almost 2 years ago
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2.8 Anxiety - Factors affecting accuracy of EWT
- Yerkes-Dodson effect
- States that when anxiety is at low and high levels, EWT is less accurate
than if anxiety is at a medium level. Recall improves as anxiety
increases up to an optimal point.
- States that when anxiety is at low and high levels, EWT is less accurate
than if anxiety is at a medium level. Recall improves as anxiety
increases up to an optimal point.
- Negative effect on recall
- Anxiety creates a physiological arousal in the
body which prevents us from paying attention
to important cues meaning recall is worse.
Weapon focus is an explanation for forgetting.
- Johnson and Scott (1976)
- Procedure: Participants believed they were taking part in a lab study. While seated in the waiting
room, there were two situations: In one a conversation was heard and a man came out holding a
pen with grease on his hands, the other a man leaving with a knife covered in blood.
- Findings: 49% who had seen the man with the
pen were able to identify the man, but only 33%
of those who had seen the bloody knife could
identify him.
- Tunnel theory of memory argues that
people have enhanced memory for
central events. Weapon focus as a
result of anxiety can have this effect.
- Tunnel theory of memory argues that
people have enhanced memory for
central events. Weapon focus as a
result of anxiety can have this effect.
- Findings: 49% who had seen the man with the
pen were able to identify the man, but only 33%
of those who had seen the bloody knife could
identify him.
- Procedure: Participants believed they were taking part in a lab study. While seated in the waiting
room, there were two situations: In one a conversation was heard and a man came out holding a
pen with grease on his hands, the other a man leaving with a knife covered in blood.
- Anxiety creates a physiological arousal in the
body which prevents us from paying attention
to important cues meaning recall is worse.
Weapon focus is an explanation for forgetting.
- Positive effect on recall
- Witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety triggering fight
or flight increasing alertness and in turn improving memory.
- Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
- Procedure: Conducted a study of an actual shooting at a gun shop in Canada where the thief was shot dead. The
witnesses were interviewed 4-5 months after the incident. Accuracy was determined by the amount of details
correct with the police report. They were also asked how stressed they were during to assess anxiety.
- Findings: Witnesses were accurate in their accounts. Those participants who reported high levels
of stress were most accurate with an accuracy of 88% compared to 75% for less stressed group.
- Findings: Witnesses were accurate in their accounts. Those participants who reported high levels
of stress were most accurate with an accuracy of 88% compared to 75% for less stressed group.
- Procedure: Conducted a study of an actual shooting at a gun shop in Canada where the thief was shot dead. The
witnesses were interviewed 4-5 months after the incident. Accuracy was determined by the amount of details
correct with the police report. They were also asked how stressed they were during to assess anxiety.
- Witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety triggering fight
or flight increasing alertness and in turn improving memory.
- Evaluation
- Weaknesses:
- Extraneous variable. The witnesses who experienced the
highest levels of stress were actually closer to the event
so that may have had effects on their memory recall.
- Extraneous variable. The witnesses who experienced the
highest levels of stress were actually closer to the event
so that may have had effects on their memory recall.
- Strengths:
- Support for negative effect. Study by Valentine
and Mesout (2009) supports research on weapon
focus. Researchers used an objective measure of
heart rate to divide participants into low and high
anxiety groups. Then they were asked to describe
details about the actor in London Dungeon.
- Support for positive effects. Christianson and
Hubinette (1993) interviewed 58 witnesses to
actual bank robberies and found that recall was
best in high anxiety witnesses.
- Support for negative effect. Study by Valentine
and Mesout (2009) supports research on weapon
focus. Researchers used an objective measure of
heart rate to divide participants into low and high
anxiety groups. Then they were asked to describe
details about the actor in London Dungeon.
- Weaknesses:
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