Effects of Repeated Exposure to Negative Stimuli on Associative Memory
| dc.contributor.advisor | Zeithamova, Dasa | |
| dc.contributor.author | Iwashita, Takako | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-08-11T17:28:46Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-08-11T17:28:46Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020 | |
| dc.description | Project files are comprised of 1 page pdf and presentation recording in mp4 format. | |
| dc.description.abstract | The ability to remember associations (e.g., a person’s face with his/her name) is an important aspect of healthy memory function. Emotional arousal (particularly negative emotion such as fear or anger) is known to disrupt associative memory more than other types of memory. It is an open question if and how these adverse effects on associative memory can be reduced. In the present study, we hypothesized that repeated exposure to negative images (desensitization) would reduce their negative effects on associative memory. To test this idea, we randomly assigned subjects to either a condition where we evoked negative emotion (negative condition) or did not evoke emotion (neutral condition) during learning of object pairs. To do so, we showed subjects a negative or neutral distractor image followed by paired objects, asking them to only remember the pair of objects for a later test. We administered four study-test blocks to examine changes in memory with repeated exposure. Results revealed that subjects in the negative condition had significantly worse memory accuracy throughout the experiment compared to those in the neutral condition. Further, we found that those in the negative condition were initially numerically slower in making their responses, suggesting difficulty processing even when making a correct response. However, the difference in reaction time between conditions diminished over time. Although our evidence was mixed, these results imply that desensitization to negative stimuli could reduce some effects of negative emotions on associative memory. This suggests a possible role of desensitization in alleviating memory disruption caused by trauma. | en_US |
| dc.format.mimetype | video/mp4 | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/25473 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
| dc.subject | memory | en_US |
| dc.subject | associative memory | en_US |
| dc.subject | emotion | en_US |
| dc.subject | desensitization | en_US |
| dc.subject | trauma | en_US |
| dc.title | Effects of Repeated Exposure to Negative Stimuli on Associative Memory | |
| dc.type | Presentation |