Genuine memory bias versus response bias in anxiety

Abstract

Low and high trait anxiety undergraduates were presented with physical‐threat, ego‐threat, positive, and neutral words. Following an orienting task promoting lexical—but not semantic—processing, unexpected free recall or recognition tests were presented. High anxiety participants showed increased correct recall of both types of threat‐related words, but also increased incorrect recall (intrusions) and incorrect recognition (false alarms) of these words. Furthermore, participants high in anxiety had reduced sensitivity (d′) for ego‐threat words, and reduced cautiousness (β) for physical‐threat words. This tendency to report threat‐related information regardless of prior presentation suggests that there is a response bias rather than a memory bias in anxiety. In addition, this bias is likely to be mediated by depression insofar as physical‐threat information is concerned, although the bias can be attributed to trait anxiety insofar as ego‐threat information is concerned.