Examining Emotion and Ease of Recall for Life Story Memories in Young Adults

Authors

Roxanna E. Chavez, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Erin L. Murphy, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
David E. Copeland, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Files

Description

Life stories are narratives that use autobiographical memories to shape personal identity. This study investigated how emotional valence and ease of recall may change over time. Participants were asked to recall ten life story memories in two interviews held three weeks apart. Participants provided ratings of emotional valence and ease of recall for each memory. A significant difference was found in emotional valence between Session 1 (M = 3.159, SD = .772) and Session 2 (M = 2.905, SD = .788), t(68) = 2.734, p < .01, with Session 1 memories rated as significantly more negative (M = 1.812, SD = 1.427) than those in Session 2 (M = 1.275, SD = 1.316), t(68) = 3.232, p < .01. Furthermore, negative memories were more frequent in the last five Session 1 memories (M = 0.986, SD = 0.866) than in all of Session 2 memories (First Five: M = 0.652, SD = .783; Last Five: M = 0.623, SD = .892), F(3, 204) = 3.663, p < .05. For ease of recall, the first five memories in both sessions (Session 1: M = 5.684, SD = 0.806; Session 2: M = 5.612, SD = 0.963) were significantly easier to recall than the last five in both sessions (Session 1: M = .214, SD = 1.128; Session 2: M = 5.136, SD = 1.080), F(2.498, 169.864) = 7.369, p < .001. Overall, these findings suggest participants recalled more accessible memories first, with negative memories being harder to retrieve as sessions progressed.

Publisher Location

Las Vegas (Nev.)

Publication Date

Fall 11-22-2024

Publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Keywords

Autobiographical Memory; Emotional Valence; Ease of Recall; Life Story Narratives; Negative Memories

Disciplines

Cognitive Neuroscience | Neuroscience and Neurobiology

File Format

PDF

File Size

1007 KB

Comments

Mentor: David E. Copeland

Recommended Citation

Chavez, Roxanna E.; Murphy, Erin L.; and Copeland, David E., "Examining Emotion and Ease of Recall for Life Story Memories in Young Adults" (2024). Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters. 226.
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/durep_posters/226

Rights

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