Cognitive--emotional distinctiveness: separating emotions from non-emotions in the representation of a stressful memory.
Current theories on autobiographical memory and recent neurological evidence suggest that emotional and non-emotional features of a memory may be retrieved by separate systems. To test this notion, 207 participants who had experienced the break-up of a significant romantic relationship in the last 12 months completed a Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) procedure in relation to the previous relationship. The resulting MDS model revealed two dimensions: a valence and an emotional/non-emotional dimension. Further, participants who associated a high level of distress with their relationship break-up perceived less dissimilarity between emotional and non-emotional features than participants who associated a low level of distress with their relationship break-up. Theoretical and methodological implications for stress and memory are discussed.
Boals
Adriel
A
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durhum, NC 27708, USA. ab43@duke.edu
Klein
Kitty
K
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003071:Cognition; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires