Anxiety

• Who found that anxiety negatively impacts recall?

  Johnson and Scott (1976)
• How is anxiety defined?

  A state of emotional and physical arousal
• How did Johnson and Scott conduct their investigation?


  Participations in a laboratory were asked to wait in the reception area, where a receptionist excused herself to run an errand, leaving the participant alone
• What were the two conditions in Johnson and Scott’s experiment?

  One was a casual conversation overhead and seeing the confederate walk out with a pen covered in grease; the other involved a heated exchange the confederate with a knife covered in blood
• How many photos were the participants asked to overlook in Johnson and Scott’s study?

  50 photos
• How many participants had correctly identified the target in Johnson and Scott’s study?

  In condition A: 49%; in condition B: 33%
• How does Loftus support Johnson and Scott’s findings?

  Claimed that participants who were exposed to the knife experienced greater levels of anxiety due to the weapon focus effect; reducing accuracy of eyewitness testimony
• What did Christianson and Hubinette (1993) find?

  Anxiety positively impacts recall
• How did Christianson and Hubinette conduct their study?

  Questioning of 58 witnesses to a bank robbery in Sweden; witnesses were either victims (bank tellers) or bystanders
• When did Christianson and Hubinette conduct their interviews?

  4-15 months after the robbery
• What were Christianson and Hubinette’s findings?

  Witnesses showed generally good recall of the robbery (75%); those who were most anxious had the best recall
• What Christianson therefore conclude?

  Memory for negative events is better than for neutral events, concerning central details