Presentation Type
Poster
Keywords
Organization, semantic-relatedness, emotional valence, recall, education, advertising
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology
Abstract
Both organization (e.g., semantic-relatedness) and emotional valence have been found to lead to better memory as seen through the superior recall of semantically-related and emotionally-valenced lists. However, research suggests that these two factors may not only lack an additive effect when combined, but may result in worse recall. Based on this research, we hypothesized emotion would hinder recall of a semantically-related list by impairing the relational processing that usually benefits recall of semantically-related material. This hypothesis was supported, as it was found that emotional valence resulted in reduced recall in a semantically-related list. This finding may have important implications for fields like education and advertising, where the use of emotional stimuli within a message could cause a a person to miss its bigger picture.
Faculty Mentor
Janet P. Trammell and Elizabeth J. Krumrei
Funding Source or Research Program
Not Identified
Location
Waves Cafeteria, Tyler Campus Center
Start Date
21-3-2014 2:00 PM
End Date
21-3-2014 3:00 PM
Included in
The Combination of Organization and Emotion: An Immediate Free Recall Task
Waves Cafeteria, Tyler Campus Center
Both organization (e.g., semantic-relatedness) and emotional valence have been found to lead to better memory as seen through the superior recall of semantically-related and emotionally-valenced lists. However, research suggests that these two factors may not only lack an additive effect when combined, but may result in worse recall. Based on this research, we hypothesized emotion would hinder recall of a semantically-related list by impairing the relational processing that usually benefits recall of semantically-related material. This hypothesis was supported, as it was found that emotional valence resulted in reduced recall in a semantically-related list. This finding may have important implications for fields like education and advertising, where the use of emotional stimuli within a message could cause a a person to miss its bigger picture.