Psychologists have claimed that some studies of eyewitness accounts lack ecological validity. Explain why these studies might lack ecological validity. (3 marks)

Eyewitness accounts lack ecological validity as they do not take in the real world, like they would in an actual crime scene. They may take place in a laboratory setting. Therefore, their findings cannot be generalized to real-life settings, as an individual will not be in the same psychological state as they would during an actual crime scene. In an eyewitness account, they may be prepared for what they are about to see, and so will not have the same arousal of fear or shock that they would during an actual crime. Thus, they will lack ecological validity compared to witnessing a crime in real life.