The weapon focus effect revisited: The role of novelty

Abstract

Purpose. The relationship between novelty, self‐reported affect, and the weapon focus effect was investigated.Methods. In two experiments, college students watched a videotaped scene in which either: no item, a novel item (celery) or a gun was brandished. The context of the gun presentation (friendly vs. crime) was also manipulated. A forced‐choice questionnaire assessed memory for details of the scene, including the ‘perpetrator’. A self‐report of affect was also included.Results. In both experiments, reliably poorer memory for details of the perpetrator's appearance was demonstrated by participants who viewed the scene with the novel item (i.e. the ‘celery’ group). A traditional weapon focus effect was obtained in Expt 2 only.Conclusions. These data suggest that novelty/salience may be sufficient to produce reliable deleterious memorial consequences in an eyewitness situation, while arguing against the idea that any unique features of a weapon are necessary for the effect. Although self‐reports of affect varied between groups in both experiments, there was little relationship between self‐reports of affect and memory. It is suggested that the term weapon focus effect may be a misnomer for a more general attentional effect.