Valentine et al (2008)

Valentine et al (2008)

1. Aim: Aimed to look at the effect of stress on real EW identification.

2. Pilot study

   • 18 employees from a London department store.
   • Heart rate recorded before and during visit to dungeon Labrinth of horror.
   • Afterwards they filled in the state anxiety inventory saying how they felt during their time in the dungeon.
   • The differences between the 2 heart rate measurements and the questionnaire scores were recorded.

3. Main study

   • Visitors to London dungeon were offered a reduced ticket price if they answered a questionnaire after the visit.
   • 56 DIFFERENT volunteers completed the questionnaires.
   • An actor dressed in a dark robe, pale face and scars. He blocked the path of ps who were pointed out to the "scary person" to ensure he didn't block anyone else's path.
   • Volunteers completed a 7 minute Labrinth tour and 45 minute tour of other exhibits (standardised).
   • They then had the study explained and informed consent was obtained, which then gave them the right to withdraw.

4. 2 Questionnaires used

   • SAI: State Anxiety Inventory. This is how anxious a person is in one particular situation (in dungeons).
     • 20 statements E.G.
       • I was tense.
       • I felt frightened.
         • Rated on a 4 point likert scale. (Not at all ---Very much so).
   • TAI: Trait Anxiety Inventory. This is how anxious a person is in every day life.
     • 20 statements E.G.
       • I feel nervous/restless.
         • Rated on a 4 point likert scale
       • I have disturbing thoughts.
         • Rated on 1 4 point likert scale.

5. Eye Witness measures

   • Free recall of "scary person".
   • Cued recall of "scary person" (height, sex, age, hair colour).
   • 9 photos selected from 50 actors for photograph line up. (similar in appearance to "scary person".
   • Confidence with identification (1-100).
   • Ps were told the "scary person" may not be in the line up, even though he always was.

6. Results

   • Pilot study: SAI collated well with heart rate, indicating that the SAI is a good measure of anxiety levels.
   • Main study: People with low anxiety levels were better at recall. But people with lower levels of anxiety were worse at recall.