Rumination on Memory and Emotion, Part 8: Conclusion

Upon reviewing the psychological and physiological ties between memory and emotion, the correlation is clear: emotion has a significant role in memory and vice versa. Taking different perspectives into account, it has been proposed that emotion’s influence on memory may be indirect. For example, the postulation that we tend to rehearse and scrutinize emotional events after the fact, which enhances memory. In a 1994 study, Cahill, Prins, Weber, and McGaugh showed participants two very similar images: one was of a neutral scene and the other was an emotionally arousing scene. Prior to doing so, however, they injected half of the participants with a beta-adrenergic blocker called propranolol, which diminishes emotion’s arousal effects on the body. The other participants were injected with a placebo. “If the memory effects of the emotional stimulus truly depend on emotion (and, in particular, on the arousal that accompanies emotion), then the beta-blocker would be expected to reduce or eliminate these memory effects. If, on the other hand, the memory effects depend on factors like rehearsal or the unusual nature of the story, then it is not obvious why the beta-blocker should have an effect.” (Heuer, Reisberg 12) The study’s results indicated that “beta-blockers do reduce (and may even eliminate) the memory differences between neutral and arousal stories, buttressing the claim that it is indeed emotion that matters for memory, and not some other attributes of these stimuli. Once again, though, caution is needed here, because Cahill et al.’s study did not distinguish between central and peripheral elements of the story…[while further research is warranted,] the weight of the evidence suggests that emotion itself has an impact on memory, with the effect plausibly depending on emotion’s arousing effects (which are specifically diminished by the administration of beta-blockers).” (op cit.)

Emotional processes fascinate me; they are the reason for my art practice. I explore emotional processes through art as a way to put my own feelings into perspective and understand others around me. Memory, specifically, has been at the forefront of my thoughts due to my personal difficulty with memory recall. Through this thesis I sought to reflect on the emotionality of memory, and consider complex systems that pertain to its processes to better understand myself and subsequently inform my work. Prior to conducting research for this essay, I possessed the notion that we as people are only what we remember, solely having considered explicit memory. While our recollection may affect our perceptions of ourselves, I have since been exposed to implicit memories, which are not consciously recalled, yet they influence behavior and evade our conscious awareness. Additionally, experiences long forgotten can still affect our emotions and behavior, invalidating my initial presumption. We and our brains are far too complex to force into such narrow conjectures. As a student with a minor in teaching, this essay has also left me with vital considerations concerning pedagogy: if emotional experiences are more consistently retained over neutral experiences, we should be utilizing emotionally distinct goal-relevant approaches to foster the most effective learning environments. After all, are we seeking adequate education or impactful lessons that students will retain life-long?

—

“APA Dictionary of Psychology.” American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://dictionary.apa.org/.

“Boundary Extension.” Zililab. Accessed December 5, 2021. https://zililab.psych.ucla.edu/research/boundary-extension/. 

Bower, Gordon H. “Mood and Memory.” American Psychologist 36, no. 2 (1981): 129–48. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.36.2.129.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2017. 

Howe, Mark L., and Catherine Malone. “Mood-Congruent True and False Memory: Effects of Depression.” Memory 19, no. 2 (2011): 192–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2010.544073. 

Intraub, Helene, and Michael Richardson. “Wide-Angle Memories of Close-up Scenes.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 15, no. 2 (1989): 179–87. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.15.2.179. 

Dumper, Kathryn, William Jenkins, Arlene Lacombe, Marilyn Lovett, and Marion Perimutter. “Parts of the Brain Involved in Memory.” Introductory psychology. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://opentext.wsu.edu/psych105/chapter/8-3-parts-of-the-brain-involved-in-memory.

Hertel, Paula “Memory for Emotional and Nonemotional Events in Depression: A Question of Habit?” Essay. In Memory and Emotion, edited by Paula Hertel and Daniel Reisberg, 186-216. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010.

Klein, Stanley B. “What Memory Is.” WIREs Cognitive Science 6, no. 1 (2014): 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1333.

Ley, David J. “Forget Me Not - the Persistent Myth of Repressed Memories ...” Psychology Today, October 6, 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/women-who-stray/201910/forget-me-not-the-persistent-myth-repressed-memories. 

“The Limbic System.” Queensland Brain Institute, January 24, 2019. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-anatomy/limbic-system.

Mcnally, Richard J., Clancy, Susan A, and Barrett, Heidi M. “Forgetting Trauma?” Essay. In Memory and Emotion, edited by Paula Hertel and Daniel Reisberg, 129-185. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engram.

Otgaar, Henry, Mark L. Howe, Lawrence Patihis, Harald Merckelbach, Steven Jay Lynn, Scott O. Lilienfeld, and Elizabeth F. Loftus. “The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 14, no. 6 (2019): 1072–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619862306. 

Reisberg, Daniel, and Friderike Heuer. “Memory for Emotional Events.” Essay. In Memory and Emotion, edited by Paula Hertel and Daniel Reisberg, 3–41. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010.

Safer, Martin A., Sven-Åke Christianson, Marguerite W. Autry, and Karin Österlund. “Tunnel Memory for Traumatic Events.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 12, no. 2 (1998): 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(199804)12:2<99::AID-ACP509>3.0.CO;2-7.

Swihart, Gayla, John Yuille, and Stephen Porter. “The Role of State-Dependent Memory in ‘Red-Outs.’” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 22, no. 3-4 (1999): 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0160-2527(99)00005-9.

Trafton, Anne | MIT News Office. “Neuroscientists Identify Brain Circuit Necessary for Memory Formation.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://news.mit.edu/2017/neuroscientists-identify-brain-circuit-necessary-memory-formation-0406.

Tyng, Chai M., Hafeez U. Amin, Mohamad N. Saad, and Aamir S. Malik. “The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory.” Frontiers in Psychology 8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454.

“Types of Memory.” University of Queensland, Queensland Brain Institute, November 20, 2019. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/types-memory.

Watkins, Philip C., Karen Vache, Steven P. Verney, Stephanie Muller, and Andrew Mathews. “Unconscious Mood-Congruent Memory Bias in Depression.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology 105, no. 1 (1996): 34–41. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x.105.1.34.

“Where Are Memories Stored in the Brain?” University of Queensland, Queensland Brain Institute, July 23, 2018. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/where-are-memories-stored.

Witter, Menno. “Entorhinal Cortex.” Scholarpedia 6, no. 10 (2011): 4380. https://doi.org/10.4249/scholarpedia.4380.

Wright, Daniel B., George D. Gaskell, and Colm A. O'Muircheartaigh. “Flashbulb Memory Assumptions: Using National Surveys to Explore Cognitive Phenomena.” British Journal of Psychology 89, no. 1 (1998): 103–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1998.tb02675.x.