Sex differences in eyewitness memory: Females are more accurate than males for details related to people and less accurate for details surrounding them, and feel more anxious and threatened in a neutral but potentially threatening context

Abstract

Witness memory can be affected by individual differences and event-related factors. This study examined sex differences in witness memory and associated differences in perceptions and feelings in a neutral but potentially threatening event context. One hundred fifteen participants (77 female, mean age 39.7; 38 male, mean age 40.5) completed an online experiment where they viewed a short point of view recording of a person walking around a building they were helping renovate. The person unexpectedly encountered a stranger holding an object, who was later revealed to be either male or female. After this encounter, the video paused, and the participants answered questions after this and at the end. Female participants were more accurate than males for stranger related details and less accurate than males for details related to the surroundings. For females, this was accompanied by greater anxiety and perceptions that the stranger was threatening, and a more accurate perception of the sex of the stranger. Results are discussed in terms of individual differences, social/developmental and evolutionary factors.