The Role of Memory in the Relationship between Affect and Familiarity

Abstract

Abstract Two previous studies have demonstrated that stimuli which elicit affect are seen as more familiar than stimuli that elicit little or no affect, but it is not clear why this effect occurs. To begin to understand the effect, the question of whether it is due to improved memory for affect-eliciting stimuli was examined. Recognition judgements were obtained for faces that varied in the strength and valence of affect elicited. Improved memory for affect-eliciting faces was not observed. Instead, the results show a bias to claim recognition for faces that are especially likely to elicit affect, whether or not those faces have been seen before, suggesting that affect can induce a sense of familiarity. The finding of a previous study indicating that both positive and negative affect increase perceived familiarity was replicated. The relevance of the results to an understanding of basic affective processes and processes involved in the assessment of familiarity is discussed. An explanation which can accou...