Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Easterbrook's Hypothesis And Eyewitness Cue Utilization, Mark R. Hill

Master's Theses

Although well-supported and historically-important, the Yerkes-Dodson research cannot incorporate current findings on the relationship of arousal and selective attention. Easterbrook's hypothesis suggests that arousal produces a narrowing of attention which selects among available stimuli. Whether information is processed depends on the level of arousal and the nature of the task. As arousal increases, Easterbrook predicts more attention directed to central tasks, while superfluous stimuli are progressively removed. The present investigation studied the predictions of Easterbrook' s hypothesis on.incidental memory in a simulated eyewitness case. College students were aroused to either resting, 50, 65, or 85 percent maximum heartrate by their …