The Effect of Self-affirmation on Memory for Negative Stimuli
Mentor/s
Dr. Adrienne Crowell
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Thinking and writing about important personal values is a means of self-affirmation that can change how individuals react to self-threats. Previous work has demonstrated that
self-affirmation increases the processing of negative stimuli, particularly among individuals high in behavioral inhibition system (BIS; i.e., sensitive to threats; e.g., Finley, Crowell, & Schmeichel, 2018). The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that if self-affirmed participants high in BIS are processing the negative stimuli more deeply as in Finley et al., then they should have better memory for those pictures. One hundred and six college students were randomly assigned to a self-affirmation condition, viewed emotional images, and completed a recognition memory test one week later. Preliminary findings suggest that self-affirmation eliminated the memory deficit for negative pictures among those high in BIS. More research on the emotional processing effects of self-affirmation for threat-prone individuals would be beneficial for therapeutic purposes.
College and Major available
College of Arts and Sciences, Psychology BS
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Best Visuals, Most Creative
The Effect of Self-affirmation on Memory for Negative Stimuli
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Thinking and writing about important personal values is a means of self-affirmation that can change how individuals react to self-threats. Previous work has demonstrated that
self-affirmation increases the processing of negative stimuli, particularly among individuals high in behavioral inhibition system (BIS; i.e., sensitive to threats; e.g., Finley, Crowell, & Schmeichel, 2018). The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that if self-affirmed participants high in BIS are processing the negative stimuli more deeply as in Finley et al., then they should have better memory for those pictures. One hundred and six college students were randomly assigned to a self-affirmation condition, viewed emotional images, and completed a recognition memory test one week later. Preliminary findings suggest that self-affirmation eliminated the memory deficit for negative pictures among those high in BIS. More research on the emotional processing effects of self-affirmation for threat-prone individuals would be beneficial for therapeutic purposes.
Students' Information
Micaela Deutsch, psychology major, class of 2023
Grace Del Pino, management major, Honors student, class of 2023
Sam Cavalea, psychology major, class of 2024
Honorable Mention, Best Visuals 2023 Award