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Anxiety can significantly impact the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (EWT).
Emotional and physical effects are complex; it’s unclear whether they enhance or impair recall.

Johnson and Scott (1976)
- Participants overheard an argument and witnessed a man with different objects (pen vs. bloody knife).
- Findings: 49% identified the man with the pen; only 33% identified the man with the knife. Indicates weapon focus effect, but suggests surprise may influence recall more than anxiety.
Pickel (1998)
- Experiment with scissors, handgun, wallet, and raw chicken.
- Witnesses' accuracy lower in high unusualness (gun/chicken) reflecting on the role of surprise versus anxiety in EWT.

Negative Effects:
- Anxiety induces physiological arousal which can detract from attention to important details.
- Stressful situations create anxiety, leading to better recall of cues but can overwhelm other factors influencing accuracy.
Positive Effects:
- Yerkes-Dodson Law: Moderate anxiety can enhance recall due to increased alertness up to an optimal point.
- Higher stress levels reported can correlate with higher accuracy (e.g., Yuille & Cutshall’s (1986) study of a real-life shooting).

Field Studies:
- Field studies offer insights without creating anxiety artificially; however, they lack control over external variables.
- Yuille & Cutshall's study showed high accuracy even long-term and stress correlated with better accuracy.
Inverted-U Theory Limitations:
- The inverted-U model simplifies the relationship between anxiety and memory; it doesn’t address the complexity of anxiety, which includes cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physiological factors.
- More nuanced research is required to accurately delineate how various aspects of anxiety affect EWT accuracy.

Ethical concerns arise from creating anxiety in participants in lab settings.
Understanding how anxiety influences recall can inform legal practices and how eyewitness accounts are treated.