Award Date

1-1-2004

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Daniel N. Allen

Number of Pages

137

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between attention and memory for emotional words. Theories of "basic emotion" divide emotions into positive and negative classifications, and propose that discrete categories exist within the larger positive negative dichotomy. Previous research on emotion has yet to investigate the areas of attention and memory by dividing positive/negative words into discrete emotional categories. Participants included 30 undergraduate students between the ages 18--40. Attention and Memory were examined using an Emotional Stroop task, The Emotional Verbal Learning Test, and the California Verbal Learning Test-II, respectively. Stimuli for emotional tasks are divided into five emotional word categories of: happiness, sadness, anger, anxiety, and disgust. Results support the existence of the Pollyanna Principle in memory and attention; however, attention and memory were not significantly correlated within discrete emotion conditions.

Keywords

Attention; Bias; Emotional; Memory; Positive; Words

Controlled Subject

Clinical psychology; Cognitive psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

2744.32 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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