Valentine and Mesout (2009)

Question	Answer
What was the aim of Valentine and Mesout (2009)?	To investigate whether a participant can give an accurate eye witness account after a stressful real-life event in which they did not know they would subsequently be tested.
Who were the participants in Valentine and Mesout (2009)?	56 volunteers who were at the London Dungeons on the day of the experiment and were given half price entry for participating. The mean age of the participants was 31. There were 29 females and 27 males.
Where was the study based for Valentine and Mesout (2009)?	In the London Dungeons. It was a field experiment in the 'Horror Labyrinth' mirror maze.
The heart rate of the participants was monitored during this experiment. How was this done?	Using a 'Polax Accureuv Plus' wireless heart monitor.
What was the TAI which was taken from the participants before their entry to the Horror Labyrinth?	'Trait Anxiety Index' which was an indication of someones general lifestyle anxiety based on 20 questions using a scale based answering technique.
What was the SAI which was recorded from the participants prior to the experiment taking place?	The SAI (state anxiety index) is practically the same as the TAI, only the question are set in the past tense, such as 'I felt frightened'. Again, this was ranked on a scale.
What were participants required to do after the experiment?	They had to fill out a questionnaire designed to test their recall of the 'scary person' they encountered in the maze. They also had a task of identifying the 'scary person' from a line up of 9 people.
What was the independent variable?	Gender, state anxiety score and trait anxiety score were all the independent variables.
What were the dependant variables?	Number of correct reported descriptions, incorrect reported description and the outcome of the photo identification activity.
What happened to the participants as they entered the Labyrinth?	They began by entering the Labyrinth in a group of other visitors. They were scared by the 'scary person' and were in the maze for seven minutes.
What happened to the participants once they had completed the tour of the Labyrinth.	They proceeded to go around all of the London Dungeons then answered the state anxiety questionnaire 45 minutes after leaving the Labyrinth. Here, informed consent was gained. They completed TIA and their questionnaire on the 'scary person', then the identification task.
What were the results of this experiment?	The mean state anxiety score was 49.0. State Anxiety was higher in females than males (women scored 52.8 whilst men scored 45.3). Trait anxiety was 36.8 on average and there were no gender differences. Also, only 17% of those who scored above 52 on TIA could identify the scary person. On the contrary, 75% of those who scored lower than 52 could identify them correctly.
Discuss the generalisability of this study.	May be low due to the participants being volunteers who were obviously at the Labyrinth as they enjoyed scary experiences. Hence, their TIA and SIA may be below global average. However, it could be high as there was a wide range of ages involved in the study.
Discuss the reliability of the study.	Can be considered low as it took place in a natural enviroment where variables couldn't be completely controlled. This makes the study hard to replicate. Although, the study may be high in reliability as despite this, experimenters had control over the way the P's were scared and how they were treated. Hence, a standardised procedure.
What research is Valentine and Mesout (2009) constant with?	Cutler and Penrod (1989), Peters (1988) and Bothwell et al.
Discuss the application of the study?	Can be applied to evolving eye witness testimony as it suggests people with high anxiety will make bad eye witnesses. Helped to create methods such as the cognitive interview.
Discuss the validity of Valentine and Mesout (2009)?	Is high in ecological validity and task validity as it took place in a natural environment which triggered anxiety in the participants, the same was witnessing a crime would. This means lack of demand characteristics. Also high due to the experimenters validating the questionnaires thoroughly to check they were a good measure of anxiety. Also, the TIA took individual differences into account.
Discuss the ethics of Valentine and Mesout (2009)?	May be low as originally informed consent wasn't acquired. This was only gathered after they left the Labyrinth. Also, the horrors of the Labyrinth may disturb some participants and this would violate the BPS guideline of responsibility. However, the P's were going to visit the Dungeons anyway. Also they were offered the right to withdraw and were debriefed.
Any further evaluation points?	They measured heart rate which is a scientific method, giving the experiment scientific credibility.

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Valentine and Mesout (2009)

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	Created by Emma Lloyd about 10 years ago