PMID- 18265607
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20080319
LR  - 20211020
IS  - 0090-502X (Print)
IS  - 0090-502X (Linking)
VI  - 35
IP  - 8
DP  - 2007 Dec
TI  - The emotional memory effect: differential processing or item distinctiveness?
PG  - 1905-16
AB  - A color-naming task was followed by incidental free recall to investigate how 
      emotional words affect attention and memory. We compared taboo, nonthreatening 
      negative-affect, and neutral words across three experiments. As compared with 
      neutral words, taboo words led to longer color-naming times and better memory in 
      both within- and between-subjects designs. Color naming of negative-emotion 
      nontaboo words was slower than color naming of neutral words only during block 
      presentation and at relatively short interstimulus intervals (ISIs). The nontaboo 
      emotion words were remembered better than neutral words following blocked and 
      random presentation and at both long and short ISIs, but only in mixed-list 
      designs. Our results support multifactor theories of the effects of emotion on 
      attention and memory. As compared with neutral words, threatening stimuli 
      received increased attention, poststimulus elaboration, and benefit from item 
      distinctiveness, whereas nonthreatening emotional stimuli benefited only from 
      increased item distinctiveness.
FAU - Schmidt, Stephen R
AU  - Schmidt SR
AD  - Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, 
      Tennessee 37132, USA. sschmidt@mtsu.edu
FAU - Saari, Bonnie
AU  - Saari B
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - United States
TA  - Mem Cognit
JT  - Memory & cognition
JID - 0357443
SB  - IM
MH  - *Association Learning
MH  - *Attention
MH  - Color Perception
MH  - Conflict, Psychological
MH  - Discrimination Learning
MH  - *Emotions
MH  - Humans
MH  - Judgment
MH  - *Mental Recall
MH  - Reaction Time
MH  - Reading
MH  - *Semantics
MH  - Taboo
MH  - *Verbal Learning
EDAT- 2008/02/13 09:00
MHDA- 2008/03/20 09:00
CRDT- 2008/02/13 09:00
PHST- 2008/02/13 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2008/03/20 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2008/02/13 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.3758/bf03192924 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Mem Cognit. 2007 Dec;35(8):1905-16. doi: 10.3758/bf03192924.