Role of anxiety

Annotations:

• Certain crimes are associated with high levels of anxiety Numerous research studies have identified several problems with eyewitness testimony, including anxiety experienced by witnesses at the time of the incident

1. LOFTUS - weapon focus, 1979

   Annotations:

   • This study demonstrated the powerful role that anxiety can play in undermining the accuracy of eyewitness memory
   1. AIMS
      1. To find out if anxiety during a witnessed incident affects the accuracy of later identification
   2. PROCEDURE
      1. Overhears discussion about equipment failure, then a person comes out of lab holding a pen
      2. Overhears argument, then a person comes out of the lab holding a knife covered in blood
      3. PPs had to pick the person from a set of photos
   3. FINDINGS
      1. Witnessed man with pen: accurate 49%
      2. Witnessed man with bloodstained knife: 33%
   4. CONCLUSION
      1. Witness concentrates on weapon and this distracts attention away from appearance of criminal
      2. Sight of weapon induces fear and anxiety which takes away attention from peripheral details
   5. EVALUATION
      1. SUPPORT: Loftus and Burns (1982)
         1. PPs either watched a violent or non-violent short film
         2. Those who saw the violent film were less accurate in recalling information about the crime
      2. AGAINST: Mainly lab studies produce this result
         1. Lacks ecological validity
         2. Field studies of real-life events produced different results
      3. AGAINST: Ethical issues
         1. PPs were deceived and may have also been upset upon seeing bloodstained knife
2. YUILLE & CUTSHALL, 1986
   1. Interviewed 13 witnesses to a real-life shooting
      1. Some of the witnesses were close to the incident; others were more distant
   2. Gave accurate accounts even months later
   3. Those closest to event gave the most detail
   4. Misleading questions had no effect on accuracy
   5. The most distressed proved the most accurate five months later
      1. Heightened arousal due to anxiety enhanced EWT (in this case)
3. CHRISTIANSON & HUBINETTE, 1993
   1. Questioned 110 witnesses who had witnesses genuine bank robberies
      1. Some had been victims and others were onlookers
   2. Victims were more accurate in their recall and remembered more details than bystanders
   3. Recall was evident even after 15 months
   4. Concluded that people (especially victims) seem to have accurate recall of highly stressful events if they occur in real life