Differential Forgetting for Emotional and Neutral Videos Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

Emotional memory research has been a significant area of research for many decades. Emotional experiences have not only been shown to be more memorable compared to neutral experiences (Bowen et al., 2018; Hamann, 2001; LaBar & Cabeza, 2006) but also less forgotten and recalled with more specific details compared to neutral experiences (LaBar & Cabeza, 2006; Sharot & Yonelinas, 2008; Kensinger, 2007). This phenomenon is often referred to as the emotional enhancement effect (Hamann, 2001). Most research on the emotional enhancement effect has analyzed memory for static emotional photos or words. However, very few studies have investigated the effect of emotion on memory for videos, stimuli that capture the full complexity and dynamic nature of human memory. Moreover, previous literature has focused primarily on memory for negative compared to neutral experiences; it remains unclear how positive experiences influence our memory. Our current study aimed to address the gaps in the current literature by examining differences in recall and forgetting for negative, positive, and neutral videos across two delay intervals (10-minute and 24 hours). We found positive videos were remembered significantly more than both negative and neutral videos, but there were no significant differences in forgetting (the extent memory performance decreased from 10-minute delay to 24 hour delay) between emotional and neutral videos. Additionally, recall performance and forgetting for negative and neutral videos were very similar. Although our results were inconsistent with our predictions, we speculate that memory for videos is differentially impacted by positive and negative stimuli.

Table of Contents

Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 1

Method............................................................................................................................................7

                      Participants....................................................................................................................7

                      Stimuli...........................................................................................................................7

                      Study Design...................................................................................................................8

                                            Encoding Phase..............................................................................................9

                                            Delay Phase..................................................................................................10

                                            Retrieval Phase.............................................................................................10

                                            Binary Scores Grading Procedure................................................................... 12

                                            Detail Scoring Procedure............................................................................... 12

                                            Data Analysis................................................................................................13

Results.............................................................................................................................................14

                      Valence and arousal ratings..............................................................................................14

                      Overall video recollection for binary scores....................................................................... 15

                      Overall video recollection for detail scores.........................................................................17

                      Correlations between arousal ratings and recall performance..............................................20

Discussion.........................................................................................................................................21

Tables and Figures

                      Table 1............................................................................................................................15

                      Figure 1............................................................................................................................9

                      Figure 2...........................................................................................................................10

                      Figure 3...........................................................................................................................11

                      Figure 4...........................................................................................................................12

                      Figure 5...........................................................................................................................16

                      Figure 6...........................................................................................................................17

                      Figure 7........................................................................................................................... 19

                      Figure 8............................................................................................................................20

                      Figure 9............................................................................................................................21

Reference...........................................................................................................................................26

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Cognition and Development
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Experimental
Keyword	Memory Forgetting Cued-recall Emotional Video Episodic Memory Delay Intervals
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Hamann, Stephan , Emory University
Committee Members	Maria, Sibau, Emory University Lourenco, Stella , Emory University

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