Anxiety and EWT

• What negative effects can anxiety have on eyewitness testimony (EWT)?

  It can impair recall and accuracy
• What is the weapon focus effect (WFE)?


  Intense focus on a weapon during a crime
• When does the weapon focus effect typically occur?

  During the commission of a crime with a weapon
• Why might an eyewitness not notice the perpetrator during a crime?

  Due to intense focus on the weapon
• Who conducted research on the weapon focus effect?

  Johnson & Scott
• What was the procedure of Johnson & Scott's (1976) study on WFE?

  • Participants believed they were in a lab study
  • Split into low-anxiety and high-anxiety groups
  • Low-anxiety group: overheard casual conversation, saw a man with a pen
  • High-anxiety group: overheard an argument, saw a man with a knife
• What did the low-anxiety group witness in the study?

  A man with a pen and grease on his hands
• What did the high-anxiety group witness in the study?

  A man with a knife and blood on his hands
• What was the mean accuracy of the low-anxiety group in identifying the man?

  49%
• What was the mean accuracy of the high-anxiety group in identifying the man?

  33%
• What were the findings of Johnson & Scott's (1976) study on WFE?

  • Low-anxiety group: 49% accuracy
  • High-anxiety group: 33% accuracy
• Who proposed the relationship between arousal and performance?

  Yerkes & Dodson
• What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law also known as?

  The inverted-U theory
• How does low arousal affect performance according to the Yerkes-Dodson Law?

  It is associated with low levels of performance
• What happens to performance as arousal increases up to an optimum level?

  Performance increases
• What occurs to performance after reaching the optimum level of arousal?

  Performance begins to decrease
• What is a limitation of the Yerkes-Dodson Law regarding anxiety?

  It does not consider all contributing factors
• Which factors does the Yerkes-Dodson Law overlook that affect EWT accuracy?

  Cognition, emotional state, and physical health
• What does EWT stand for?

  Eyewitness Testimony
• How does anxiety relate to performance in the context of EWT?

  Low anxiety leads to low performance
• Why might the Yerkes-Dodson Law be considered too simple?

  It does not account for multiple anxiety factors