The Impact of Emotion on Relational Memory Interference

Author: Tiana Lee

Field of Study: Psychology

Program Affiliation: Cognition, Aging, and Memory Performance (CAMP) Lab

Faculty Mentors: Michael Dulas

Easel: 107

Timeslot: Morning

Abstract: Memory often encounters interference from either newly learned information (Retroactive Interference, RI) or previously learned information (Proactive Interference, PI). Emotional information may be particularly interfering, though emotion is also known to enhance memory. However, the interactions between emotional-memory and interference have not been well studied. Here, this research examined how neutral versus emotional information impacts relational memory through interference. Participants studied objects paired with angry and/or neutral faces, where the face pairing switched throughout the study. Their memory was then tested for either the most recent object-face pairing (PI), or the original object-face pairing (RI). Results showed that relational memory was poorer for high than low interference, but item memory remained unaffected. In the high interference condition, memory was impaired when the target face was angry but the interfering face was neutral. Thus, relational memory interference effects likely depend on the emotional valence of both the to-be-remembered and to-be-forgotten information.