title: Post-encoding emotional arousal enhances consolidation of item memory, but not reality-monitoring source memory.
abstract: The current study examined whether the effect of post-encoding emotional arousal on item memory extends to reality-monitoring source memory and, if so, whether the effect depends on emotionality of learning stimuli and testing format. In Experiment 1, participants encoded neutral words and imagined or viewed their corresponding object pictures. Then they watched a neutral, positive, or negative video. The 24-hour delayed test showed that emotional arousal had little effect on both item memory and reality-monitoring source memory. Experiment 2 was similar except that participants encoded neutral, positive, and negative words and imagined or viewed their corresponding object pictures. The results showed that positive and negative emotional arousal induced after encoding enhanced consolidation of item memory, but not reality-monitoring source memory, regardless of emotionality of learning stimuli. Experiment 3, identical to Experiment 2 except that participants were tested only on source memory for all the encoded items, still showed that post-encoding emotional arousal had little effect on consolidation of reality-monitoring source memory. Taken together, regardless of emotionality of learning stimuli and regardless of testing format of source memory (conjunction test vs. independent test), the facilitatory effect of post-encoding emotional arousal on item memory does not generalize to reality-monitoring source memory.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Economic Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Social Development , Central University of Finance and Economics , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: b School of Education , Fuqing Branch of Fujian Normal University , Fuqing , China.
authors.forename: Bukuan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000069077:Memory Consolidation / Q000502:physiology*; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011936:Reality Testing; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Item memory; Memory consolidation; Negative emotional arousal; Positive emotional arousal; Reality source monitoring