4. Emotion and Memory

Question 1

Enhanced memory for emotional events has been attributed to interactions between which neural areas?

Answer 1

The amygdala and hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Question 2

What role do hormones play in emotional memory?

Answer 2

Emotions trigger stress hormones, which trigger activity in the amygdala (next to the hippocampus)

Question 3

What is mood dependent memory?

Answer 3

Enhanced recollection of information previously encountered in a specific mood state when pne re-experiences that mood state at retrieval

Question 4

What is mood congruent memory?

Answer 4

We are more likely to recall experiences that are in line with our current mood

Question 5

Why is mood congruent memory an issue for people suffering with depression?

Answer 5

It indicated bias towards negative memories

Question 6

Short lived, elicited in response to object or event, can be very intense, we have awareness of it - moods or emotions?

Answer 6

Emotions

Question 7

What is more intense, mood or emotion?

Answer 7

Emotion

Question 8

***** are general feelings, often without a link to a specific object or event

Answer 8

Moods

Question 9

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 9

Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event e.g. Loftus and Palmer

Question 10

Misinformation studies have found there are increased false memories for details of: positive or negative scenes?

Answer 10

Negative

Question 11

What is the Easterbrook cue utilisation theory?

Answer 11

High arousal restricts the focus of attention, causing a person to notice information that elicits arousal, but to fail to process other information

Question 12

What is meant by the memory trade-off theory?

Answer 12

Individuals remember the central emotional content of a stimulus but forget the other details

Question 13

Memory ‘trade off’ only occurs for information presented in close spatial proximity to an emotional item, true or false?

Answer 13

False, it also occurs for temporal proximity

Question 14

When witnesses recall a crime scene or jurors recall upsetting testimony during the course of a trial, they are more likely to remember threatening information, and be susceptible to what?

Answer 14

Misinformation concerning peripheral details, such as the setting in which the crime occured

Question 15

A very large study (N > 5000), demonstrated that false memories of fictional political events were more likely when …

Answer 15

… the fabricated event aligned with participants’ own political leanings

Question 16

Self-reported interest in a topic increases *****-memory

Answer 16

False memory, but it can also increase true memories about that topic

Question 17

The episodic memory system and long-term self make up what?

Answer 17

Autobiographical memory

Question 18

What kind of events are recalled more easily and directly? Positive or negative?

Answer 18

Positive

Question 19

Autobiographical memories were accessed most quickly in response to music cues that were what, positive or negative?

Answer 19

Positive in emotion and highly arousing

Question 20

Why do happy musical cues lead to the most direct access to past events?

Answer 20

It relates to the proposed function of autobiographical memory to maintain emotional well-being an a positive sense of self

Question 21

What type of musical cues are associated with memories rated as more social and energetic?

Answer 21

Cues with both high arousal and positive valence

Question 22

Mood congruent memory: individuals in a sad mood recall what type of event faster?

Answer 22

Negative

Question 23

What is overgeneral memory?

Answer 23

A tendency to retrieve memories only in generalised ways and inability to retrieve specific memories

Question 24

In what disorder is overgeneral autobiographical memory a consistent feature?

Answer 24

Major depressive disorder (MDD), as well as in other affective disorders

Question 25

There is a relationship between ** and specificity of memory, moderated by the qualitative aspects of the **, and the way in which people cope with it

Answer 25

Trauma

Question 26

In 1889 Pierre Janet postulated that intense emotional reactions make events traumatic by…

Answer 26

…interfering with the integration of the experience into existing memory schemes

Question 27

What is meant by defensive exclusion?

Answer 27

Insecurely attached individuals will filter out all information related to his or her attachment figure, as this is associated with psychological pain

Question 28

Szpunar et al, 2012: found that overtime, details associated with negative simulations of future events are what, easier or more difficult to remember?

Answer 28

More difficult

Question 29

Healthy adults often think about their futures in an overly positive or negative light?

Answer 29

Positive

Question 30

What is the fading affect bias?

Answer 30

The intensity of emotions associated with memory of pleasant events generally fades more slowly across time than the intensity of emotions associated memory of unpleasant events