Emotional enhancement of memory extends to subsequent memory formation

Poster Session B - Sunday, April 14, 2024, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Jamie Snytte¹ (jamie.snytte@mail.mcgill.ca), Ting Ting Liu¹, Renée Withnell¹, M. Natasha Rajah², Signy Sheldon¹; ¹McGill University, ²Toronto Metropolitan University

Emotional information is recalled more accurately compared to non-emotional information, known as the emotional enhancement of memory. However, it is not fully clear if the emotional enhancement of memory carries over to improve recollection of subsequent neutral events. We conducted two behavioural experiments to assess (1) if the emotional enhancement of memory impacts recall for subsequent neutral events, and (2) whether the presence of this carryover effect is determined by conceptual overlap between events. In Experiment 1 (N = 66, mean age = 20.18, SD = 1.35), participants viewed neutral and emotional video clips from the same series. One group viewed the neutral video before the emotional video, and the other viewed the neutral video after the emotional video. When participants recollected the videos, we observed an interaction between the emotion of the video and testing order. All participants recalled more details from the emotional compared to the neutral video. However, the neutral video was recalled better by the group that viewed it after, compared to before the emotional video. To test if this effect was dependent on conceptual overlap between the videos, Experiment 2 (N = 64, mean age = 21.58, SD = 2.63) replicated Experiment 1, using a conceptually unrelated neutral video from another movie. In Experiment 2, we found an emotional enhancement of memory across both groups, but not an interaction between the emotion of the video and testing order. Together, these experiments provide insight into how the emotional enhancement of memory impacts recollection of subsequent events.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic