eyewitness testimonies

• What is the tunnel theory in relation to anxiety and eyewitness testimony?

  Witnesses focus on the weapon due to anxiety, negatively affecting overall recall.
• How does anxiety create a fight or flight response in eyewitness situations?

  It triggers physiological arousal, increasing alertness and memory for the event.
• What evidence supports the effect of anxiety on eyewitness testimonies?

  • Real-life shooting incident with 21 witnesses
  • 13 witnesses interviewed 4-5 months later
  • Those with highest stress levels were most accurate in recall
  • Physiological arousal linked to increased alertness and cue recognition
• What is the ecological validity of the shooting incident study mentioned?

  The situation occurred in real life, reducing demand characteristics.
• What is a limitation of the eyewitness testimony study regarding internal validity?

  Extraneous variables were not controlled, affecting the results.
• What is post-event discussion and how might it affect eyewitness recall?

  Witnesses may discuss the event, potentially exaggerating or altering their memories.
• What does the Yerkes-Dodson law state about performance and arousal?

  Performance improves with increased arousal up to an optimal point, then decreases.
• How does increased anxiety affect physiological arousal and memory according to the Yerkes-Dodson law?

  Increased anxiety heightens alertness and improves memory until it becomes too high.
• What happens to memory performance when anxiety levels exceed the optimal point according to the Yerkes-Dodson law?

  Memory performance begins to decrease as focus is lost.