| Abstract: | Suggests that an explanation for differential recall can be found without recourse to an arousal model. Four experiments were conducted with 200 college students. Exp 1 replicated the findings of E. B. Jones et al (1987) that Ss show poor recall of associates to emotional words. Exp 2 showed that reducing the number of emotionally toned stimulus words in the word list resulted in an improvement in recall for associates generated to these words. In Exp 3, recall for associates generated to emotionally toned stimulus words was poorer if the stimulus words were similar in meaning than if they were dissimilar. Exp 4 found that stimulus word properties other than emotionality could be manipulated to demonstrate a differential recall. Results are explained in terms of the inability of the retrieval system to discriminate among competing sets of responses that are semantically and emotionally congruent. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
