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Browsing Undergraduate Works by Author "Adler, Melissa"

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    The Effect of Emotion on Associative Memory: Anger Versus Fear
    (University of Oregon, 2020-08) Adler, Melissa
    Studies show that emotion enhances memory for individual items but weakens memory for associations between items (Bisby & Burgess, 2014). One explanation for this associative memory impairment is that emotional stimuli capture attention, causing enhanced encoding of the emotional item but reduced encoding of the surrounding environment (Schupp, Junghöfer, Weike, & Hamm, 2003). This explanation generates the prediction that emotional information always impairs associative memory. Alternatively, it may be that emotion orients attention towards threats in the environment, suggesting that emotions’ effects on associative memory may differ depending on where they indicate a threat may be coming from (Öhman, Flykt, & Esteves, 2001). For example, seeing an angry face constitutes a direct threat. The angry face itself potentially captures attention and thereby reduces memory for its associated information. In contrast, seeing a fearful face indicates a threat elsewhere in the environment. Therefore, the fearful face may redirect attention towards the surroundings and thus enhance encoding of the associated information. To adjudicate between these hypotheses, subjects studied sets of three images, consisting of two objects and a face with either a neutral, angry, or fearful expression. Subjects were later tested on their memory for the associations between the three items. Supporting the first hypothesis, memory for both angry and fearful associations was worse than memory for neutral associations. Contrary to the second hypothesis, there were no differences in memory for angry versus fearful associations. Thus, emotional information itself seems to capture attention, weakening memory for related information.
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    ItemOpen Access
    The Effect of Emotion on Associative Memory: Anger Versus Fear
    (University of Oregon) Adler, Melissa; Zeithamova, Dasa
    Studies show that emotion enhances memory for individual items but weakens memory for associations between items. One explanation for this associative memory impairment is that emotional stimuli capture attention, causing enhanced encoding of the emotional item but reduced encoding of the surrounding environment. This hypothesis generates the prediction that emotional information always impairs associative memory. Alternatively, it may be that emotion orients attention towards threats in the environment, thus suggesting anger and fear have different effects on memory for associated information. To adjudicate between these hypotheses, subjects studied sets of three images, consisting of two objects and a face with either a neutral, angry, or fearful expression. Subjects were later tested on their memory for the associations between the three items. Supporting our the first hypothesis, memory for both angry and fearful associations was worse than memory for neutral associations. Contrary to our the second hypothesis, there were no differences in memory for angry versus fearful associations. Thus, emotional information itself seems to capture attention, weakening memory for related information. If we understand the mechanisms of how negative emotion influences associative memory, we may discover methods of counteracting the impairment via various memory-improving techniques. This could lead to increased memory accuracy for emotional events and thus increased accuracy and reliability of eyewitness testimonies.