Memory for negatively arousing and neutral pictorial stimuli using a repeated testing paradigm

Abstract

The relationship between negatively arousing pictorial stimuli and memory was investigated using a repeated testing paradigm. Based on the previous literature, it was assumed that the superior memory for negatively arousing material was due to elaboration. Therefore, we hypothesised that negatively arousing material would produce more hypermnesia than neutral material because of the increased elaboration associated with negatively arousing stimuli. A total of 160 participants viewed negatively arousing or neutral slides for either 1 second or 5 seconds and completed three free recall tests. During the inter-test intervals, participants worked on a filler task or sat quietly. The results showed superior memory for negatively arousing slides over neutral slides, and an increase in memory across tests for the arousal condition but not for the neutral condition. The results did not provide strong support for the elaboration hypothesis.