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

References

• Antes , J.R. 1974 . The time course of picture viewing . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 103 , 62 – 70 .
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Beggar threatens raccoon to get cash . 1997 , May 13 . Los Angeles Times , p. 8 .
   Google Scholar
• *Behrman , B.W. , & Davey , S.L. 2001 . Eyewitness identification in actual criminal cases: An archival analysis . Law and Human Behaviour , 25 , 475 – 491 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brewer , N. , Potter , R. , Fisher , R.P. , Bond , N. , & Luszcz , M.A. 1999 . Beliefs and data on the relationship between consistency and accuracy of eyewitness testimony . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 13 , 297 – 313 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brown , J.M. 2003 . Eyewitness memory for arousing events: Putting things into context . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 17 , 93 – 106 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chinn , S. 2000 . A simple method for converting an odds ratio to effect size for use in meta-analysis . Statistics in Medicine , 19 : 3127 – 3131 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Christianson , S.-Å. 1986 . Effects of positive emotional events on memory . Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , 27 , 287 – 299 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Christianson , S.-Å. , & Hübinette , B. 1993 . Hands up! A study of witnesses’ emotional reactions and memories associated with bank robberies . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 7 , 365 – 379 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Cooper , B.S. , Kennedy , M.A. , Herve , H.F. and Yuille , J.C. 2002 . Weapon focus in sexual assault memories of prostitutes . International Journal of Law and Psychiatry , 25 : 181 – 191 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Cutler , B.L. , & Penrod , S.D. 1988 . Improving the reliability of eyewitness identification: Lineup construction and presentation . Journal of Applied Psychology , 73 , 281 – 290 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cutler , B.L. , Penrod , S.D. , & Dexter , H.R. 1990 . Juror sensitivity to eyewitness identification evidence . Law and Human Behavior , 14 , 185 – 191 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Cutler , B.L. , Penrod , S.D. , & Martens , T.K. 1987a . The reliability of eyewitness identification: The role of system and estimator variables . Law and Human Behavior , 11 , 223 – 258 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Cutler , B.L. , Penrod , S.D. , & Martens , T.K. 1987b . Improving the reliability of eyewitness identification: Putting context into context . Journal of Applied Psychology , 72 , 629 – 637 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Cutler , B.L. , Penrod , S.D. , O'Rourke , T.E. and Martens , T.K. 1986 . Unconfounding the effects of contextual cues on eyewitness identification accuracy . Social Behavior , 1 : 113 – 134 .
   Google Scholar
• *Cutshall , J.L. and Yuille , J.C. 1989 . “ Field studies of eyewitness memory of actual crimes ” . In Psychological methods in criminal investigation and evidence , Edited by: Raskin , D.C. 97 – 124 . New York , NY : Springer .
   Google Scholar
• *Davies , G.M. , Smith , S. , & Blincoe , C. 2008 . A ‘weapon focus’ effect in children . Psychology, Crime & Law , 14 , 1 9 – 28 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Davis , J.P. , & Valentine , T. 2009 . CCTV on trial: Matching video images with the defendant in the dock . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 23 , 482 – 505 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Deffenbacher , K.A. 2008 . Estimating the impact of estimator variables on eyewitness identification: A fruitful marriage of practical problem solving and psychological theorizing . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 22 , 815 – 826 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Deffenbacher , K.A. , Bornstein , B.H. , Penrod . S. D , & McGorty , E.K. 2004 . A meta-analytic review of the effects of high stress on eyewitness memory . Law and Human Behavior , 28 , 687 – 706 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Easterbrook , J.A. 1959 . The effect of emotion on the utilization and organization of behavior . Psychological Review , 66 , 183 – 201 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Egeth , H.E. 1993 . What do we not know about eyewitness identification? . American Psychologist , 48 : 577 – 580 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Goose held hostage in Canada robbery . 1997 , April 26 . Toledo Blade , p. 2 .
   Google Scholar
• Glass , G.V. , McGaw , B. and Smith , M.L. 1981 . Meta-analysis in social research , Beverly Hills , CA : Sage .
   Google Scholar
• Gray , P. 1971 . Robbery and assault of bus drivers . Operations Research , 19 , 257 – 269 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hazell , P. , O'Connell , D.O. , Heathcote , D. , Robertson , J. and Henry , D. 1995 . Efficacy of tricyclic drugs in treating child and adolescent depression: A meta-analysis . British Medical Journal , 310 : 897 – 901 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hedges , L.V. 1982 . Estimation of effect size from a series of independent experiments . Psychological Bulletin , 92 , 490 – 499 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hedges , L.V. and Olkin , I. 1985 . Statistical methods for meta-analysis , San Diego , CA : Academic Press .
   Google Scholar
• *Hope , L. , & Wright , D. 2007 . Beyond unusual? Examining the role of attention in the weapon focus effect . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 21 , 951 – 961 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hulse , L.M. , & Memon , A. 2006 . Fatal impact? The effects of emotional arousal and weapon presence on police officers’ memories for a simulated crime . Legal and Criminological Psychology , 11 , 313 – 325 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Johnson , C. , & Scott , B. 1976 . Eyewitness testimony and suspect identification as a function of arousal, sex of witness and scheduling of interrogation . Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting , Washington , DC
   Google Scholar
• Kassin , S.M. , & Gudjonsson , G.H. 2004 . The psychology of confessions: A review of the literature and issues . Psychological Science in the Public Interest , 5 , 33 – 67 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kassin , S.M. , Tubb , V.A. , Hosch , H.M. , & Memon , A. 2001 . On the ‘general acceptance’ of eyewitness testimony research: A new survey of the experts . American Psychologist , 56 , 405 – 416 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kensinger , E.A. , Garoff-Eaton , R.J. , & Schacter , D.L. 2006 . Memory for specific visual details can be enhanced by negative arousing content . Journal of Memory and Language , 54 , 99 – 112 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Koriat , A. , Goldsmith , M. , & Pansky , A. 2000 . Toward a psychology of memory accuracy . Annual Review of Psychology , 51 , 481 – 537 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Kramer , T.H. , Buckhout , R. , & Eugenio , P. 1990 . Weapon focus, arousal and eyewitness memory: Attention must be paid . Law and Human Behaviour , 14 , 167 – 184 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kuehn , L.L. 1974 . Looking down a gun barrel: Person perception and violent crime . Perceptual and Motor Skills , 39 : 1159 – 1164 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lipsey , M.W. and Wilson , D.B. 2000 . Practical meta-analysis , Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage .
   Google Scholar
• Loftus , E.F. 1979 . Eyewitness testimony , Cambridge , MA : Harvard University Press .
   Google Scholar
• *Loftus , E.F. , Loftus , G.R. , & Messo , J. 1987 . Some facts about ‘weapon focus’ . Law and Human Behaviour , 1 , 55 – 62 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Loftus , G.R. , & Mackworth , N.H. 1978 . Cognitive determinates of fixation location during picture viewing . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 4 , 565 – 572 .
   Google Scholar
• *Maass , A. , & Kohnken , G. 1989 . Eyewitness identification: Simulating the ‘weapon effect’ . Law and Human Behaviour , 13 , 397 – 408 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Malpass , R.S. ( 2006a ). A policy evaluation of simultaneous and sequential lineups . Psychology, Public Policy and Law , 12 , 394 – 418 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Malpass , R.S. 2006b . Notes on the Illinois pilot program on sequential double-blind identification procedures . Public Interest Law Reporter , 11 ( 2 ) : 5 – 47 .
   Google Scholar
• Mastrobuoni , G. 2010 . Everybody stay cool, this is a robbery . In N. Garoupa (Chair) , Crime, labor, health . Panel conducted at the meeting of the American Law and Economics Association, Princeton University .
   Google Scholar
• Mastrobuoni , G. 2011 . Optimal criminal behavior and the disutility of jail: Theory and evidence on bank robberies . Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.carloalberto.org/people/mastrobuoni/doc/ValueFreedom4.pdf
   Google Scholar
• *Mecklenburg , S.H. 2006 . Report to the legislature of the State of Illinois: The Illinois Pilot Program on double-blind, sequential lineup procedures , Springfield , IL : Illinois State Police .
   Google Scholar
• *Mitchell , K.J. , Livosky , M. and Mather , M. 1998 . The weapon focus effect revisited: The role of novelty . Legal and Criminological Psychology , 3 : 287 – 303 .
   Google Scholar
• *O'Rourke , T.E. , Penrod , S.D. , Cutler , B.L. , & Stuve , T.E. 1989 . The external validity of eyewitness identification research: Generalizing across subject populations . Law and Human Behaviour , 13 , 385 – 395 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Peace , K.A. , & Porter , S. 2004 . A longitudinal investigation of the reliability of memories for trauma and other emotional experiences . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 18 , 1143 – 1159 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Peters , D.P. 1988 . Eyewitness memory and arousal in a natural setting . In M. Gruneberg , P. Morris , & R. Skyes , Practical aspects of memory: Current research and issues: Vol. 1. Memory in everyday life (pp. 89 – 94 ). Chichester : Wiley .
   Google Scholar
• Peters , J.D. 2001 . Witnessing. Media, Culture, and Society , 23 , 707 – 723 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pike , G. , Brace , N. , & Kyman , S. 2002 , March . The visual identification of suspects: Procedures and practices . (Briefing Note 2/02). London: Policing and Reducing Crime Unit Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. Retrieved from http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/brf202.pdf
   Google Scholar
• Pickel , K.L. 1998 . Unusualness and threat as possible causes of ‘weapon focus’ . Memory , 6 , 277 – 295 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Pickel , K.L. 1999 . The influence of context on the ‘weapon focus’ effect . Law and Human Behaviour , 23 , 299 – 311 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pickel , K.L. 2007 . “ Remembering and identifying menacing perpetrators: Exposure to violence and the weapon focus effect ” . In The handbook of eyewitness psychology, Vol II: Memory for people , Edited by: Lindsay , R.C.L. , Ross , D.F. , Read , J.D. and Toglia , M.P. 339 – 360 . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum .
   Google Scholar
• *Pickel , K.L. 2009 . The weapon focus effect on memory for female versus male perpetrators . Memory , 17 , 664 – 678 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Pickel , K.L. , French , T. , & Betts , J. 2003 . A cross-modal weapon focus effect: The influence of a weapon's presence on memory for auditory information . Memory , 11 , 277 – 292 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Pickel , K.L. , Narter , D.B. , Jameson , M.M. , & Lenhardt , T.T. 2008 . The weapon focus effect in child eyewitnesses . Psychology, Crime & Law , 14 , 61 – 72 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Pickel , K.L. , Ross , S.J. , & Truelove , R.S. 2006 . Do weapons automatically capture attention? Applied Cognitive Psychology , 20 , 871 – 893 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Porter , S. , & Peace , K.A. 2007 . The scars of memory: A prospective, longitudinal investigation of the consistency of traumatic and positive emotional memories in adulthood . Psychological Science , 18 , 435 – 441 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• R Development Core Team . 2010 . R: A language and environment for statistical computing . Vienna : R Development Core Team .
   Google Scholar
• Rand Corporation . 1975 , October . The criminal investigation process 1–3 ; Report No. R-1776-DOJ, R-1777-DOJ) . Santa Monica , CA : The Rand Corporation .
   Google Scholar
• Reisberg , D. and Heuer , F. 2007 . “ The influence of emotion on memory for forensic settings ” . In The handbook of eyewitness psychology: Memory for events , Edited by: Toglia , M.P. , Read , J.D. , Ross , D.F. and Lindsay , R.C.L. 81 – 116 . Mahwah , NJ : Erlbaum .
   Google Scholar
• Rosenthal , R. 1978 . Combining results of independent studies . Psychological Bulletin , 85 , 185 – 193 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ross , S.J. , & Malpass , R.S. 2008 . Moving forward: Response to ‘Studying eyewitness investigations in the field’ . Law and Human Behavior , 32 , 16 – 21 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sánchez-Meca , J. , Marín-Martínez , F. , & Chacón-Moscoso , S. 2003 . Effect-size indices for dichotomized outcomes in meta-analysis . Psychological Methods , 8 , 448 – 467 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Saunders , J. 2009 . Memory impairment in the weapon focus effect . Memory & Cognition , 37 , 326 – 335 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shaw , J.I. , & Skolnick , P. 1994 . Sex differences, weapon focus and eyewitness reliability . Journal of Social Psychology , 134 , 413 – 420 .
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Shaw , J.I. , & Skolnick , P. 1999 . Weapon focus and gender differences in eyewitness accuracy: Arousal versus salience . Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 29 , 2328 – 2341 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Steblay , N.M. 1992 . A meta-analytic review of the weapon focus effect . Law and Human Behavior , 16 , 413 – 424 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Steblay , N.M. 2010 . What we know now: The Evanston Illinois field lineups . Law and Human Behavior , 35 , 1 – 12 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Tollestrup , P.A. , Turtle , J.W. and Yuille , J.C. 1994 . “ Actual victims and witnesses to robbery and fraud: An archival analysis ” . In Adult eyewitness testimony: Current trends and developments , Edited by: Ross , D. , Read , D. and Ceci , C. 144 – 162 . New York , NY : Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge .
   Google Scholar
• *Tooley , V. , Brigham , J.C. , Maass , A. , & Bothwell , R.K. 1987 . Facial recognition: Weapon effect and attentional focus . Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 17 , 845 – 859 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Valentine , T. , & Mesout , J. 2009 . Eyewitness identification under stress in the London Dungeon . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 23 , 151 – 161 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Valentine , T. , Pickering , A. , & Darling , S. 2003 . Characteristics of eyewitness identification that predict the outcome of real lineups . Applied Cognitive Psychology , 17 , 969 – 993 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• van der Kolk , B.A. 1996 . “ Trauma and memory ” . In Traumatic stress , Edited by: van der Kolk , B. , McFarlane , A. and Weisaeth , L. 279 – 302 . New York , NY : Guildford Press .
   Google Scholar
• Viechtbauer , W. 2010 . Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package . Journal of Statistical Software , 36 : 1 – 48 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Wagstaff , G.F. , MacVeigh , J. , Scott , L. , Brunas-Wagstaff , J. , & Cole , J. 2003 . Can laboratory findings on eyewitness testimony be generalized to the real world? An archival analysis of the influence of violence, weapon presence, and age on eyewitness accuracy . Journal of Psychology , 137 , 17 – 28 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Whipple , G. 1915 . Psychology of testimony . Psychological Bulletin , 12 , 221 – 224 .
   Google Scholar
• Whitehead , A. , Bailey , A. , & Elbourne , D. 1999 . Combining summaries of binary outcomes with those of continuous outcomes in a meta-analysis . Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics , 9 , 1 – 16 .
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Yarmey , A.D. 2001 . Expert testimony: Does eyewitness memory research have probative value for the courts? Canadian Psychology , 42 , 92 – 100 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yerkes , R.M. , & Dodson , J.D. 1908 . The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation . Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology , 18 , 459 – 482 .
   Google Scholar
• Wells , G.L. 2008 . Field experiments on eyewitness identification: Towards a better understanding of pitfalls and prospects . Law and Human Behavior , 32 ( 1 ), 6 – 10 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar