6 EWT - anxiety

anxiety in EWT

eyewitnesses often feel anxious due to the danger they perceive to be in and can be a source of distortion for EWT

Yerkes–Dodson Inverted-U Theory

Relationship between anxiety and recall follows an Inverted-U.
• Low anxiety → low accuracy
• Moderate anxiety → best accuracy
• High anxiety → low accuracy (stress harms recall)

weapon focus effect (elisabeth loftus)

when anxious of seeing the weapon, your attention only focuses on weapon rather than peripheral details and face of ‘murderer’

Johnson & Scott (1976) – Weapon Focus

Aim:
To test if anxiety causes weapon focus, reducing recall.

Method:
• Participants heard argument in lab.
• Low-anxiety condition: man exits with pen + grease.
• High-anxiety condition: man exits with bloody knife.

Results:
• Knife condition: 33% accurate recall
• Pen condition: 49% accurate recall
→ High anxiety → attention drawn to weapon → reduced accuracy.

Loftus et al (2nd Weapon Focus Study)

Aim:
To investigate attention narrowing to a weapon.

Method:
• Participants watched a video of a customer in a store.
• Customer either held a gun (high anxiety) or a cheque (low anxiety).
• Asked to identify the customer.

Results:
• Gun condition had significantly poorer facial identification.
→ Supports the weapon focus effect.

Weakness: Pickel (1988)

Point: Weapon focus may not be caused by anxiety.
Evidence: Pickel (1998) used unusual items (e.g., scissors, raw chicken).
Findings: Worst recall was for unexpected / unusual items, not the scary ones.
Explain: Suggests weapon focus is due to surprise, not anxiety.
Link: Weakens Johnson & Scott’s explanation.

weakness: Yuille & Cutshall

Point: Real-life evidence contradicts weapon focus effect.
Evidence: Witnesses in real robbery showed 88% accuracy after 5 months despite high anxiety.
Explain: Anxiety can enhance memory when stakes are real.
Link: Lab studies (Johnson & Scott, Loftus) may underestimate real witness accuracy.

Weakness: Issues With Lab Studies

Point: Weapon focus studies often lack ecological validity.
Evidence: Lab scenes involve fake weapons, no real danger.
Explain: Participants know they are safe → anxiety is artificial.
Link: Findings may not reflect stress effects during real crimes.

Strength: Applications

Point: Research into anxiety and EWT has practical benefits.
Evidence: Helps police understand when anxiety may harm or improve recall.
Explain: Supports improved interviewing (e.g., Cognitive Interview) that reduces anxiety and enhances accuracy.
Link: Shows high practical value.