Adaptive memory: survival processing enhances retention.
The authors investigated the idea that memory systems might have evolved to help us remember fitness-relevant information--specifically, information relevant to survival. In 4 incidental learning experiments, people were asked to rate common nouns for their survival relevance (e.g., in securing food, water, or protection from predators); in control conditions, the same words were rated for pleasantness, relevance to moving to a foreign land, or personal relevance. In surprise retention tests, participants consistently showed the best memory when words were rated for survival; the survival advantage held across recall, recognition, and for both within-subject and between-subjects designs. These findings suggest that memory systems are "tuned" to remember information that is processed for fitness, perhaps as a result of survival advantages accrued in the past.
Nairne
James S
JS
Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. nairne@psych.purdue.edu
Thompson
Sarah R
SR
Pandeirada
Josefa N S
JN
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004644:Emotions; D005239:Fear; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007092:Imagination; D011939:Mental Recall; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013534:Survival / Q000523:psychology*; D013894:Thirst; D014706:Verbal Learning