Glanzer and Cunnitz (1995)

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To study the role of emotion in the creation of emotions

Question 2

Procedure

Answer 2

The participants in this study were split into 2 groups. They both had to view 12 slides which were accompanied by a story. However, one group had a highly emotionally arousing study, whilst the other group had a boring and mundane study. They were then asked to rate how emotional each story was. Two weeks after, they were then questioned regarding the details of both the story and the slides. This exact procedure was then repeated however this time the participants were either given a beta-blocker (propanolol) or a placebo solution. Propanolol is a beta blocker which prevents the hormones such as adrenalin and chortisol from activing the amygdala.

Question 3

Results

Answer 3

In the orignal study, the group which was given the emotionally arousing story was able to recall signifcant more detail than the group with the boring and mundane story. however, in the 2nd study, the participants with the emotionally arousing study and the beta blocker propanolol did no better than the group with the mundane story. The researchers then concluded that the amygdala plays a significant role in the creation of memories associated with emotions.