Selective memory bias for self-threatening memories in trait anxiety.
Previous research has suggested that we tend to forget information that is self-threatening--an effect known as mnemic neglect. Three experiments are reported, which examined mnemic neglect in anxiety and whether high-anxious individuals show facilitated memory for self-threatening material. In Experiment 1, high-anxious participants were found to have facilitated memory for self-threatening information in comparison to low-anxious participants. In Experiments 2 and 3 boundary conditions to this memory bias for self-threatening memories were examined, which revealed facilitated recall of self-threatening memories when this information was unmodifiable (Experiment 2) and when this information was highly diagnostic of underlying traits (Experiment 3). The findings indicate that high-anxious participants show reversed mnemic neglect effects indicating increased access to self-threatening information. The findings suggest that high-anxious individuals do show memory bias for threatening information but only under certain circumstances.
Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK. j.saunders@swan.ac.uk
Jo
J
Saunders
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010551:Personality; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult