Emotional memory is perceptual

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Abstract

In two experiments it was investigated which aspects of memory are influenced by emotion. Using a framework proposed by Roediger (American Psychologist 45 (1990) 1043–1056), two dimensions relevant for memory were distinguished the implicit–explicit distinction, and the perceptual versus conceptual distinction. In week 1, subjects viewed a series of slides accompanied with a spoken story in either of the two versions, a neutral version, or a version with an emotional mid-phase. In week 2, memory performance for the slides and story was assessed unexpectedly. A free recall test revealed superior memory in the emotional condition for the story's mid-phase stimuli as compared to the neutral condition, replicating earlier findings. Furthermore, memory performance was assessed using tests that systematically assessed all combinations of implicit versus explicit and perceptual versus conceptual memory. Subjects who had listened to the emotional story had superior perceptual memory, on both implicit and explicit level, compared to those who had listened to the neutral story. Conceptual memory was not superior in the emotional condition. The results suggest that emotion specifically promotes perceptual memory, probably by better encoding of perceptual aspects of emotional experiences. This might be related to the prominent position of perceptual memories in traumatic memory, manifest in intrusions, nightmares and reliving experiences.

Section snippets

Emotional memory is perceptual

The idea that emotional events are better memorized than neutral events is widespread. It is tempting to attribute a functional value to this phenomenon, as emotions signify information that is potentially important for survival. A superior recollection of emotional events might help the organism to better cope with both negative and positive events, i.e. it might help to optimally adapt to the environment. Dozens of animal and human studies have indeed yielded evidence for the idea that

Overview and design

Data were collected during two experiments in which the emotion induction and the memory tasks were tested, as a pilot for a large pharmacological experiment on emotional memory. Since both experiments had the same design, and had similar results, data were collapsed to increase statistical power. Both experiments had two conditions, a neutral and an emotional condition (see Cahill et al., 1994). Subjects were randomized across conditions. There was an acquisition phase during which the

Manipulation check

The VAS ratings of emotionality of the story were analyzed separately for the two versions of the experiment. In experiment 1 the emotional story was scored only modestly higher than the neutral story, means (sd's) 3.77 (2.19) and 2.80 (1.54), t(18)=1.68, p=0.13 (one tailed). An outlier analysis revealed two outliers in the neutral condition. After deleting these two cases, the difference was significant, t(16)=2.26, p<0.05 (one tailed). In experiment 2 the difference was much larger, t(21)=3.26

Discussion

The free recall test replicated earlier findings that emotional memory is superior to memory of more neutral events. Free recall of memories of the slides preceding and following the emotional stimuli was not superior. The proper aim of the present study was to investigate what kinds of memories are modulated by emotion. We used a framework proposed by Roediger (1990), characterized by a processing dimension (perceptual versus conceptual) and a retrieval dimension (implicit versus explicit). On

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to Larry Cahill and Anna van Stegeren for providing us with their stimulus material, memory tests, and experimental instructions.

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