The Weapon Focus Effect Explained
Written by Jeevan Bains
The weapon focus effect is a phenomenon often seen in eyewitness studies. It refers to the tendency for eyewitnesses to focus their attention on the weapon of an armed criminal to such a degree that their memory for other aspects of the event is impaired (E.F. Loftus et al., 1987). When a weapon is involved, eyewitnesses may not be able to process or remember information regarding the background details of the crime as effectively as they would have if no weapon was visible (Pickel, 1999). For example, when asked later, an eyewitness may not be able to tell you what colour a perpetrator’s coat was, but they could tell you that the person was armed. Psychologists have been interested in the weapon focus effect for several decades, as this phenomenon demonstrates the ways in which environmental factors (i.e., objects in one’s immediate surroundings) and perceptual processes (e.g., selective attention) can influence eyewitness memory (Saunders, 2009). Ultimately, the weapon focus effect can seriously affect criminal investigations, since police usually rely on witnesses' descriptions of perpetrators when attempting to identify potential suspects.
After decades of research, two commonly proposed explanations for the weapon focus effect stand out. The first explanation suggests that when a weapon is present during a crime, it triggers a state of high alert in witnesses, which narrows their attention to focus on that weapon. This theory is rooted in Easterbrook’s (1959) hypothesis that highly stressful environments limit our ability to pay attention to everything around us. As a result, in a criminal event, individuals are likely to become preoccupied with the weapon to such an extent that their brains fail to encode peripheral information. However, studies based on this hypothesis have produced mixed results, with some findings supporting the theory and others failing to establish a relationship between eyewitnesses being highly alert and having impaired memory (Deffenbacher et al., 2004).
An alternative explanation for the weapon focus effect came from research using eye-tracking technology (E.F. Loftus et al., 1987). This explanation is built on the finding that individuals visually focus longer and more often on items that are rarely seen in a given setting, compared to typical items that fit with the context of the setting (G.R. Loftus & Mackworth, 1978). For example, if you were looking at a scene of a kitchen, you might look longer at a beach ball than at a toaster. Eventually, researchers were able to conduct lab experiments demonstrating that focusing on a weapon dampens memory for details of a perpetrator other than the weapon, and that this happens regardless of one’s level of alertness (Pickel et al., 2006). These findings provide support for the hypothesis that links fixation to weapon focus, rather than the hypothesis that points to alertness.
While exploring the weapon focus effect, it is also important to consider whether weapons capture attention automatically. After all, one’s awareness of or control over one’s own attentional focus has important implications for responses to crime. If the mechanism that draws attention to weapons is automatic, then eyewitnesses may have little power over their reactions. However, if the process is not automatic, then some form of cognitive training (e.g., learning to focus one’s attention) might reduce the negative effect that weapon focus has on memory. Researchers conclude that simply warning potential witnesses about the danger of a perpetrator before they see them can actually reduce (and sometimes eliminate) the memory impairment for background details that is typically associated with the weapon focus effect (Pickel et al., 2009). So, if education allows eyewitnesses to overcome the weapon focus effect, then it is highly unlikely that weapons capture our attention automatically.
Finally, it is important to discuss the real-life implications of the weapon focus effect. As it turns out, research has yet to demonstrate any consistent evidence that this phenomenon occurs in the real world (Kocab & Sporer, 2016). Therefore, there are concerns about whether expert witnesses should even be allowed to point to lab findings when giving testimony to juries during criminal trials, as the findings may not truly reflect reality. Moving forward, it may be wise for scientists to design their experiments on the weapon focus effect to more strongly consider and reflect real-life scenarios. For example, scientists could work more closely with law enforcement agencies. Such collaboration would increase our ability to apply the results to real-world events, and better understand how the presence of a weapon affects eyewitness attention and memory.
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References
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(6), 687-706. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-004-0565-x
Easterbrook, J. A. (1959). The effect of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior. Psychological Review, 66(3), 183-201. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0047707
Kocab, K., & Sporer, S. L. (2016). The weapon focus effect for person identifications and descriptions: A meta-analysis. Advances in Psychology and Law, 71–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29406-3_3
Loftus, G.R. & Mackworth, N.H. (1978). Cognitive determinants of fixation location during picture viewing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 4(4), 565-572.
Loftus, E. F., Loftus, G. R., & Messo, J. (1987). Some facts about “weapon focus.” Law and Human Behavior, 11(1), 55-62.
Pickel, K. L. (1999). The influence of context on the “weapon focus” effect. Law and Human Behavior, 23(3), 299-311.
Pickel, K. L., Ross, S. J., & Truelove, R. S. (2006). Do weapons automatically capture attention? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(7), 871-893. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1235
Pickel, K. L. (2009). The weapon focus effect on memory for female versus male perpetrators. Memory, 17(6), 664-678. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210903029412
Saunders, J. (2009). Memory impairment in the weapon focus effect. Memory & Cognition, 37(3), 326–335. https://doi.org/10.3758/mc.37.3.326
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The blog posts are for informational and educational purposes only. The posts should not be considered as any type of advice (medical, mental health, legal, and/or religious advice). All blog posts have been researched, written, and edited by the undergraduate students and alumni of the Lifespan Cognition Lab. As a teaching and research-based lab, we encourage all lab members to help make knowledge more accessible to all communities through these posts.
