How emotion influences the details recalled in autobiographical memory

Wardell, Victoria; Madan, Christopher R.; Jameson, Taylyn J.; Cocquyt, Chantelle; Checknita, Katherine; Liu, Hallie; Palombo, Daniela J.

Abstract

A wealth of research suggests that emotion enhances memory. Yet, this enhancement is not uniform. While some theories posit that emotion enhances memory for sensory/perceptual information, such an enhancement has not been observed in mnemonic detail production. However, a focus on remote events (often more semanticized) may be masking an effect. Focusing on perceptual details, we examined the effects of emotion on mnemonic detail, sampling both remote and recent autobiographical events. We administered the Autobiographical Interview, a protocol that parses autobiographical details into categories (perceptual, event, emotion/thoughts, place, and time). Participants (N=56) recalled memories that were positive, negative, and neutral from recent (≲3months old) and remote (~1–5 years old) time periods. Recollection of perceptual details did not differ for emotional versus neutral memories at either retention interval. However, emotion affected memory for other detail types, contingent on time period. Our findings enrich our understanding of the nuance of emotional memory.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 12, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 19, 2021
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 20, 2022
• Journal: Applied Cognitive Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0888-4080
• Electronic ISSN: 1099-0720
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1454-1465
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3877
• Keywords: Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Developmental and Educational Psychology; Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6293953
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.3877
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Wardell, V., Madan, C. R., Jameson, T. J., Cocquyt, C. M., Checknita, K., Liu, H., & Palombo, D. J. (2021). How emotion influences the details recalled in autobiographical memory. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35( 6), 1454– 1465, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3877. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.