Koellmann, Phil Bennet (2024) The Effects of Positive Emotion on the Precision of Episodic Memory and Influences of Emotional Reactivity. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
This study investigates the effects of positive emotional valence in episodic memory (EM) on memory precision and explores the moderating role of emotional reactivity (ER). For this purpose, a novel paradigm was designed in which participants were sequentially presented with pairs of objects, faces, scenes, and phrases that they had to vividly imagine interacting to construct EMs. Positive and neutral interpersonal remarks included in the engrams served as an emotion induction method through social conditioning. Results revealed no significant differences in ratings of positive emotions evoked by the emotional phrases of the EM, suggesting that the emotion induction method was ineffective. The hypothesis testing revealed no significant difference in memory precision between the emotional valence conditions on a group level. However, exploratory analyses revealed a trend that participants who reported a higher increase in positive evaluations of stimuli also showed greater memory precision for elements of engrams that included positive phrases, indicating a potential threshold for emotion needed to affect memory processes. A negative correlation was found between ER and memory precision differences between conditions, implying that higher ER may be associated with better memory precision for objects encoded in neutral rather than positive contexts. Future studies should utilize more robust emotion induction methods and improved memory precision tests to further investigate the role of positive emotional valence in EM processes and the role of ER. Keywords: Episodic Memory, Memory Precision, Emotional Reactivity, Emotion Induction
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Nieuwenstein, M.R. and Ruuskanen, V.H.S. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jul 2024 13:34 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jul 2024 13:34 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4073 |
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