anxiety

• What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?

  Performance is related to arousal level. As arousal level increases, accuracy of recall increases up to an optimal point; when extreme stress occurs it decreases accuracy of recall.
• Anxiety : a positive effect

  Stress will trigger a fight or flight response, a consequence of which is increased alertness, which may improve our memory for an event because we become more aware of the situation.
• Anxiety: a negative effect

  Anxiety creates a physiological arousal in the body that prevents us paying attention to important cues, so recall is impaired. Psychologists have studied the effect of weapons (anxiety provoking) on EWT accuracy.
• What is the weapon focus event?

  Loftus et al (1917) found that if a weapon is present, then witnesses focus on the weapon rather than the person's face. This supports the idea that anxiety can divert attention from important features of a situation in line with the weapons effect.
• What did Johnson and Scott do in 1976?

  They conducted an experiment to see if anxiety affects the accuracy of EWT and facial recognition. They invited participants to a laboratory where they were told to wait in the reception area. A receptionist who was seated nearby excused herself to run an errand, leaving the participant alone.
• What experimental design did Johnson and Scott use?

  They used an independent groups design, as participants were then exposed to one of two conditions.
• What were the two conditions of Johnson and Scott's study?

  1. The 'no weapon' effect condition: participants overheard a conversation in the laboratory about equipment failure. Thereafter an individual (the target) left the laboratory and walked past the participant holding a pen, with his hands covered in grease.
  2. The 'weapon' condition: participants overheard a heated conversation and the sound of glass breaking and crashing chairs. This was followed by an individual (the target) running into the reception area, holding a bloodied letter opener.
• What were the findings of Johnson and Scott's experiment?

  1. Those in the 'no weapon' condition correctly identified the target 49% of the time.
  2. Those in the 'weapon' condition correctly identified the target 33% of the time.

  They concluded that the anxiety of seeing someone with a knife reduces the accuracy of EWT.