Weapon focus is a factor affecting the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Weapon focus signifies a witness to a crime diverting their attention to the weapon the criminal is holding, thus leaving less attention for other details in the scene and leading to memory impairments later for those other details. Elizabeth Loftus, Yuille and Burns, have all been associated with studies to prove the existence of weapon focus as it has been and still is a highly controversial theory.

References

• Kramer, T.H.I., Buckhout, R.I., Eugenio, P.I. (1990). Weapon focus, arousal, and eyewitness memory. Law and Human Behavior.
• Loftus, E.F., Loftus, G.R., & Messo, J. (1987). Some facts about weapon focus. Law and Human Behavior, 11, 55-62. Abstract
• Mitchell, K. J., Livosky, M., & Mather, M. (1998). The weapon focus effect revisited: The role of novelty. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 3, 287-303. PDF
• Pickel, K.L. (1998). Unusualness and threat as possible causes of "weapon focus," Memory.
• Steblay, N. M. (1992). A meta-analytic review of the weapon focus effect. Law and Human Behavior.

See also

• Emotion and memory