emotion dependent memory

Question 1

emotional memory enhancement

Answer 1

well documented. recognition and recall for emotionally salient items is superior to the recognition and recall for neutral items

believed the release of stress hormones may play a role

Question 2

how does emotion aid memory

Answer 2

emotions = rise in stress hormones = trigger activity in amygdala (next to hippocampus) = increases memory-forming activity and engages the frontal lobes and basal ganglia to ‘tag’ the memories as important.

affect also lead to info being more/less memorable

memories stores with more sensory and emotional details = trigger a rapid unintended recall of the memory
traumatised people can have intrusive recall

Question 3

mood dependent memory

Answer 3

enhanced recollection of memory stored when in the same mood at encoding as retrieval - similar to state dependent memory (deep sea divers)

induce mood > learn words > testing.
when match between encoding mood and recalling mood = memory was better

some studied report weaker effect

Question 4

mood congruent memory

Answer 4

more likely to recall experiences in line with current mood to support our current mood.
doesnt matter the state of learning. - v v robust and replicated effect
issue for those with affective disorders (e.g. depression)

Question 5

moods

Answer 5

long lasting
general feeling without cause
not as intense as emotions - general background of affective day
sometimes not consciously aware

Question 6

emotions

Answer 6

short lived - high level emotion
in response to an object/event
can be very intense
we are aware of emotions

Question 7

Affect Priming Theory

Answer 7

Bower & Forgas, 2000

affect is stored in a network of associations
activation of an affective state will lead to activation of other components of the network = memories associated with that affective state are more likely to be retrieved