Positive effect on recall

• • anxiety can trigger our fight or flight response -> increases alertness
  • may improve memory as we become more aware of the situation
• Evidence: Yuille & Cutshall (1986)


  Context:

  • real crime (a person was shot dead)

  Study:

  • Yuille & Cutshall got through 13 EW and asked them 4-5 months later to recall the crime
  • level of accuracy was measured by the number of details that were reported the same
  • had to state how 'stressed' they had felt (7-point-scale)

  Results:

  • higher anxiety = better accuracy

  Conclusion:

  • anxiety can also have a positive effect on recall