Factors affecting eyewitness testimony: Anxiety

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How does anxiety have a negative impact on recall?
Creates a physiological arousal in the body, preventing us from paying attention to important cues therefore recall is worse
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What was the procedure of the research study carried out?
Ppts. believed they were taking part in a lab experiment. They waited in waiting room, heard an arguement in the next room. Low-anxiety and high-anxiety conditions carried out with different ppts.
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What happened in the high-anxiety condition?
Ppts. heard a heated arguement with the accompanying sound of breaking glass. Man walked out of the room with a paper knife covered in blood
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What happened in the low-anxiety condition?
Man walked through waiting room with a pen and grease on his hands
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What were the findings from this research study?
Ppts. picked out man who walked through the waiting room from a set of 50 pictures. 49% picked out man with pen, 33% picked out man with knife
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Explain why fewer people could recognise the man with the knife in the resarch study:
Tunnel theory of memory argues that witnesses attention narrows to focus on a weapon because its a source of anxiety
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How does anxiety have a positive effect on recall?
Fight or flight response is triggered by arousal in the body and it increases our alertness and improves memory for the event
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Card 2

Front

What was the procedure of the research study carried out?

Back

Ppts. believed they were taking part in a lab experiment. They waited in waiting room, heard an arguement in the next room. Low-anxiety and high-anxiety conditions carried out with different ppts.

Card 3

Front

What happened in the high-anxiety condition?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What happened in the low-anxiety condition?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What were the findings from this research study?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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