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

Section 3.1. Introduction
Section 3. Experiment 9
Experiment 8 did not support associative binding or implicit memory as
underlying the observed memory differences. Therefore, we will now consider
whether the distinctiveness of emotional stimuli may contribute towards these
effects. As discussed in the introduction to this chapter, distinctiveness of
emotional stimuli has been argued to play an important role in the emotional
enhancement of memory (e.g. Talmi et al., 2007). This possibility is explored
in this experiment by blocking the presentation of stimuli into lists containing
stimuli of one type of emotion.
In line with previous research in this area we predict that the
presentation of stimuli in blocks of emotion will eradicate the emotional
enhancement of both specific and general recognition. We also predict that the
attention focusing seen onto negative objects in a scene in Experiment 7 will be
eradicated.
Section 3.2. Method
Design
A within-participants blocked list design was used with scenes of a
neutral background and a negative, neutral or positive object to examine the
role of distinctiveness in the emotional enhancement of visual memory
specificity. Eye movement measurements will also be recorded to examine the
influence of distinctiveness on the distribution of visual attention whilst
participants are encoding the scenes.
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