ERIC Number: EJ1307142
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0888-4080
EISSN: N/A
Evidence of Alcohol Induced "Weapon Focus" in Eyewitness Memory
Harvey, Alistair J.; Sekulla, Alistair
Applied Cognitive Psychology, v35 n5 p1263-1272 Sep-Oct 2021
We examined the effects of acute alcohol on eyewitness memory for a simulated armed robbery under laboratory conditions. Alcohol and placebo participants viewed a slide series showing a target male taking a laptop from a helpdesk assistant, either on loan or at gunpoint. Following a brief retention period, participants responded to "central" multiple-choice questions, about the target's actions face and clothing, and "peripheral" questions about other scene features. Alcohol participants shown the no-weapon scene displayed poorer peripheral memory than placebo controls, though alcohol did not impair peripheral memory among weapon scene viewers. Alcohol participants also showed a weapon focus effect, providing less accurate responses to central questions related to details about the target male than no-weapon controls. These findings are consistent with alcohol myopia theory and suggest intoxicated eyewitnesses may be more susceptible to weapon focus than sober counterparts.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A