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Effects of Emotionally Valenced Objects on Associative Memory of Events

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Date Issued:
2022
Abstract/Description:
Kersten et al. (2021) revealed that participants remembered negatively valenced actions better than neutral actions, but did no better at binding negative actions with the people who performed them compared to neutral actions. We were interested in testing whether emotion only enhances memory for individual features of an event, or whether emotion can also enhance binding of certain combinations of features. In particular, we tested the effect of emotionally charged objects on the ability to remember those objects and the actions associated with them. Participants saw a series of brief videos each involving an actor performing one of two different actions on one of two objects within a specific object category (e.g., guns or piñatas), some objects neutral in valence, some positive, and some negative. Participants were later tested on their ability to distinguish old events from novel conjunctions of particular objects with the actions that had been previously performed with the other members of the same object categories. Although only marginally significant, participants appeared more able to bind objects with their associated actions when those objects held a negative charge compared to neutral objects. Additionally, participants were more sensitive to changes in actions when those actions were associated with negative objects compared to neutral or positive objects. However, false memory increased when new negative objects were presented compared to novel presentation of neutral or positive objects.
Title: Effects of Emotionally Valenced Objects on Associative Memory of Events.
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Name(s): Pugh, Lindsey, author
Kersten, Alan, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of Psychology
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2022
Date Issued: 2022
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 56 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Kersten et al. (2021) revealed that participants remembered negatively valenced actions better than neutral actions, but did no better at binding negative actions with the people who performed them compared to neutral actions. We were interested in testing whether emotion only enhances memory for individual features of an event, or whether emotion can also enhance binding of certain combinations of features. In particular, we tested the effect of emotionally charged objects on the ability to remember those objects and the actions associated with them. Participants saw a series of brief videos each involving an actor performing one of two different actions on one of two objects within a specific object category (e.g., guns or piñatas), some objects neutral in valence, some positive, and some negative. Participants were later tested on their ability to distinguish old events from novel conjunctions of particular objects with the actions that had been previously performed with the other members of the same object categories. Although only marginally significant, participants appeared more able to bind objects with their associated actions when those objects held a negative charge compared to neutral objects. Additionally, participants were more sensitive to changes in actions when those actions were associated with negative objects compared to neutral or positive objects. However, false memory increased when new negative objects were presented compared to novel presentation of neutral or positive objects.
Identifier: FA00014069 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2022.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Emotions
Memory
Valence
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014069
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.