can anxiety lead to both positve and negative effects on EWT

Who suggested that whilst anxiety has a negative effefect on EWT accuracy,it may have an increase accuracy under certain conditions

DEFFENBACHER

What did DEFFENBACHER suggest

YERKES-DODSON EFECT

Prediction that performance will increase at first as anxiety increases - then a point where performance drops as anxiety becomes to high + damages performance in an increasing way

(Upside down U shape = inverted U theory)

What is one problem fo many studies into anxiety and EWT

Researchers only study high and low anxiety

Means that not checking moderate anxiety - where highest performance should be

Issu for various levels of anxiety - each person responds differently to levels of anxiety

What would cause moderate anxiety might cause high anxiety in other ppt

What has been suggested that one key extraneous variable is in many studies of anxiety

Emotional sensitivity (individual differences)

A study - ppt assessed for neuroticism (tend to be more anxious )

Either labelled as neurotic or stable (less emotionally sensitive)

In study - ppt showed rising levels of accuracy as stres levels increased whereas opposite was true for neurotics- their accuracy levels decreased as stress increased

DEFFENBACHER - points out that modest effect sizes shown in many studies of ANXIETY MAY BE REUSLT OFavergaing out low accuracy and high accuracy scores of sentive and non sensitive ppt respectively

What is an alternative model

What is the theory called and what does it predict

What did the 2 peple observe

FAZEY AND HARDY

Suggested a more complex relationship between anxiety and performance than YERKES DODSEN MODEL

Catastrophe theory predicts that when physiological arousal increases beyond he optimum level - inverted U hypotheses predicts a gradual decrease in performance

But FAZEY AND HARDY - observed that in fact there is sometimes a catastrophe decline - suggest is due to increased mental anxiety

Inverted u theory only describes increases in physiological anxiety

DEFFENBACHER believes this offers a better fit with research findings - especially real life eyewitnesses

What did Parker find

Tested levels of anxiety and accuracy of recall by interviewing peopl who had experienced damaged to their homes during a hurricane

Found a link between amount of damage to a person house (measure of anxiety)and accuracy of recall