loftus 1979

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loftus 1979

aim-to find out if anxiety during a witnessed incident affects the accuracy of later identification.

people were exposed to two conditions-group one low key discussion with a man coming out with a pen covered on grease group two heated row comes out with blood on the knife. participants were then given fifty photos and asked to identify the person who came out of the lab.

findings-group one 49 percent identified the person correctly and group two 33 percent identified the person correctly.

conclusion-loftus termed this the weapon effect where the witness concentrates on the weapon rather than the appearance of the perpetrator. the fear of anxiety induced narrows the focus of attention and reduces accuracy of recall.

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