EWT

EWT

1. selective attention- the concept that we only have a limited capacity for processing information

2. cue dependency theory of forgetting- we need environmental or state (emotional) cues in the environment to be able to remember things.

3. the effect of age on EWT

   • children as witnesses - PARKER AND CARRANZA found that primary school children were more likely to choose someone from a mock line up than were adults, but they were also more likely to make errors
   • Age differences in accuracy- YARMENY found that older adults (age 45-65) were less confident recall of a confederate and also less accurate than younger adults.
   • Effects of delay- MEMON ET AL. found that accuracy in older people (age60-82) dropped when the identification task was delayed for a week.

4. the effect of anxiety on EWT

   • anxiety has a negative effect- DEFFENBACHER ET AL. conducted a meta analysis. They analysed 18 studies of anxiety and EWT. many showed that stress has a negative impact on accuracy of EWT but some studies showed that anxiety may actually enhance the accuracy of recall.
   • anxiety enhances recall- CHRISTANSON AND HUBINETTE conducted a questionnaire. They spoke to 58 real witnesses to bank robberies. The greater the threat, the more accurate the recall and the more detail was remembered, compared to onlookers who were less emotionally aroused.
   • the weapon focus effect-JOHNSON AND SCOTT conducted a lab experiment to demonstrate the weapon focus effect.
     • weapon focus effect- arousal (anxiety) may focus attention on central features of a crime (e.g the weapon) and thus reduce the recall of detail(e.g perpetrators face). In this experiment, a man runs through a room carrying a pen covered in grease or a knife covered in blood. witnesses were 49% accurate in identifying the man with the pen, compared to 33% accuracy with the knife.