title: Picturing survival memories: enhanced memory after fitness-relevant processing occurs for verbal and visual stimuli.
abstract: Recent studies have shown that processing words according to a survival scenario leads to superior retention relative to control conditions. Here, we examined whether a survival recall advantage could be elicited by using pictures. Furthermore, in Experiment 1, we were interested in whether survival processing also results in improved memory for details. Undergraduates rated the relevance of pictures in a survival, moving, or pleasantness scenario and were subsequently given a surprise free recall test. We found that survival processing yielded superior retention. We also found that distortions occurred more often in the survival condition than in the pleasantness condition. In Experiment 2, we directly compared the survival recall effect between pictures and words. A comparable survival recall advantage was found for pictures and words. The present findings support the idea that memory is enhanced by processing information in terms of fitness value, yet at the same time, the present results suggest that this may increase the risk for memory distortions.
authors: Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. henry.otgaar@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors: Henry
authors: H
authors: Otgaar
authors: Tom
authors: T
authors: Smeets
authors: Saskia
authors: S
authors: van Bergen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult