Anxiety on EWT

• Johnson and Scott aim

  Investigate if high levels of anxiety will affect accuracy of recall
• Johnson and Scott procedure

  Johnson and Scott had left participants to sit outside a laboratory where they thought they had heard a genuine conversation. They were separated into 2 condition: one with weapon and the other without
• Johnson and Scott procedure low anxiety

  They had heard a peaceful conversation about office equipment. A man had came out holding a pen with grease on his hand
• Johnson and Scott procedure high anxiety

  They heard a more heated conversation and glass smashing. A man emerged holding a knife with blood on it. All participants then had to identify the man they saw from 50 photos
• Johnson and Scott findings

  Low anxiety condition: 49% were able to identify the man

  high anxiety: 33% were only able to identify correctly
• Johnson and Scott conclusion

  heightened anxiety or emotional arousal can cause less accurate recall in EWT and thus is due to weapon focus effects: focusing more on weapon rather than the person
• Loftus and palmer procedure

  In a controlled environment, participants had to watch a simulated robbery. Some watched a non violent whilst others did of the robbery where a boy was shot in the face
• Loftus and palmer findings

  Those that watched the non violent version has produced a more accurate recall of the crime
• Loftus and palmer conclusion

  This is due to heightened anxiety and emotional arousal that can cause disrupted accurate recall