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Of guns and geese: a meta-analytic review of the ‘weapon focus’ literature

dc.contributor.authorFawcett, Jonathan
dc.contributor.authorRussell, Emily
dc.contributor.authorPeace, Kristine
dc.contributor.authorChristie, John
dc.date.accessioned2017-03-24
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-28T00:36:44Z
dc.date.available2022-05-28T00:36:44Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractWeapon focus is frequently cited as a factor in eyewitness testimony, and is broadly defined as a weapon-related decrease in performance on subsequent tests of memory for those elements of an event or visual scene concurrent to the weapon. This effect has been attributed to either (a) physiological or emotional arousal that narrows the attentional beam (arousal/threat hypothesis), or (b) the cognitive demands inherent in processing an unusual object (e.g. weapon) that is incongruent with the schema representing the visual scene (unusual item hypothesis). Meta-analytical techniques were applied to test these theories as well as to evaluate the prospect of weapon focus in real-world criminal investigations. Our findings indicated an effect of weapon presence overall (g= 0.53) that was significantly influenced by retention interval, exposure duration, and threat but unaffected by whether the event occurred in a laboratory, simulation, or real-world environment.
dc.description.urihttps://library.macewan.ca/cgi-bin/SFX/url.pl/91O
dc.identifier.citationFawcett, J. M., Russell, E. J., Peace, K. A., & Christie, J. (2013). Of guns and geese: A meta-analytic review of the ‘weapon focus’ literature. Psychology, Crime, and Law, 19, 35-66. doi: 10.1080/1068316X.2011.599325
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2011.599325
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/753
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved
dc.subjectweapon focus
dc.subjecteyewitness memory
dc.subjectmemory
dc.subjectattention
dc.subjectcognition
dc.titleOf guns and geese: a meta-analytic review of the ‘weapon focus’ literatureen
dc.typeArticle

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