Emotion on Cognitive Processes

Introduction

Emotions such as anger, happiness, and sadness interact with biological and cognitive factors, affecting memory formation and recall, often creating vivid and detailed “flashbulb memories.”

Flashbulb Memory - Intro

Brown and Kulik (1977) defined flashbulb memories as highly detailed, vivid “snapshots” of moments when emotionally charged events occur, resistant to forgetting.

Flashbulb Memory - About

Flashbulb memories have distinct characteristics and are more vivid and long-lasting than ordinary memories due to emotional intensity.

Studies

Studies by Sharot et al. (2007) and Smith et al. (2015) show that strong emotional events or statements activate neural mechanisms creating vivid memories and increase confidence in accuracy.

Brown and Kulik (1977) - Method

80 male participants (half white, half black) completed questionnaires about the deaths of J.F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and someone they knew personally, recalling details about the event, emotional impact, and frequency of discussion.

Brown and Kulik (1977) - Method

90% recalled vivid details of personal deaths; for public figures, 75% of black participants vs. 33% of white participants had flashbulb memories of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.

Brown and Kulik (1977) - Conclusion

Emotional events create more vivid memories, and personal relevance strengthens memory recall, showing cognitive processes are affected by emotion.

Brown and Kulik (1977) - Limitations

Gender and cultural bias, potential demand characteristics, although results were replicable and supported by biological evidence.

Sharot et al. (2007) - Method

Conducted an experiment in order to determine the role of biological factors on flashbulb memories.24 participants in New York during 9/11 were placed in an fMRI scanner, presented with word cues linked to 9/11 or summer holidays, and rated vividness, detail, confidence, and arousal while describing memories.

Sharot et al. (2007) - Results

Participants closer to the World Trade Center had stronger amygdala activation and more vivid memories, showing biological mechanisms in emotional memory creation.

Sharot et al. (2007) - Conclusion

Emotional experiences enhance memory formation and recall by activating neural mechanisms like the amygdala, especially when personally engaged with the event.

Sharot et al. (2007) - Evaluation

Strengths: Triangulation and biological evidence via fMRI. Limitations: Small, culturally limited sample, artificial setting, correlational findings.

Smith et al. (2015) - Method

How tone of voice may affect the performance on a cognitive task. 15 participants answered 80 deductive reasoning questions in an fMRI scanner with questions delivered in sad, angry, or neutral tones, and accuracy and brain activity were measured.

Smith et al. (2015) - Results

Participants were more accurate with emotional tones than neutral; angry tone improved performance most, with distinct brain activation patterns observed in hippocampus, inferior temporal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and angular gyrus.

Smith et al. (2015) - Conclusion

Emotional delivery enhances attention and accuracy, showing the brain prioritizes emotionally charged statements over neutral ones.

What are the overall conclusions about emotion and memory from these studies?

Strong emotional stimuli create vivid flashbulb memories, increase accuracy, and activate brain areas like the amygdala and hippocampus, demonstrating the influence of emotion on cognitive processes.

Which brain areas are primarily associated with flashbulb memories?

The amygdala and hippocampus.

How does emotional intensity affect memory according to these studies?

Higher emotional intensity strengthens memory vividness, detail, and confidence in accuracy.

How do personal relevance and proximity to events influence flashbulb memory formation?

The more personally relevant or physically close an individual is to an emotional event, the more likely they are to form a vivid flashbulb memory.