PDF (PhD Thesis Susan Chipchase) - Nottingham eTheses ...

consistent experimental findings from which to manipulate different factors of
the procedure and explore the processes underlying this effect.
We found no significant emotional influence on memory for the
association between an object and the background on which it was initially
presented. These findings are not consistent with our prediction that there
would be greater memory for this association with positive emotion. We had
predicted that there would be a greater link in memory between backgrounds
and objects when that object was positive, but we found no evidence of this for
positive or negative emotions.
These findings are not consistent with those of Touryan et al. (2007)
who found reduced memory of the association between a peripheral object and
the photograph on which it had been presented when the photograph had been
negative, rather than neutral. There were differences in the paradigm of
Touryan et al. and that used here which may explain the differences. Touryan
et al. (2007) were testing memory for the association between an object that
was both spatially and conceptually disparate from the central image
(photograph) whereas we were testing memory for the association between
peripheral background of the scene and the central object and therefore the
peripheral object was only spatially disparate, not also conceptually disparate.
Additionally, the task here may have been easier than that in Touryan et al.
(2007) and greater levels of performance may have masked any emotional
differences. Performance was at approximately 60% in Touryan et al (2007)
compared to approximately 80% in this experiment.
There was no evidence that memory for an emotional object affected
any implicit memory for the background as measured by level of preference to
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