ATTENTIONAL EFFECTS ON PROCESSING EMOTIONAL FALSE MEMORY – A PROCESS DISSOCIATION PROCEDURE APPROACH

Abstract

Past research examining the effects of emotions and memory has found a bias in processing negative information over positive emotions. It has been suggested that negative information is being processed at a pre-attentive level, allowing such information to be retained even in the absence of intentional attention. This effect has been extended into the realm of false memory, with evidence showing that negative false memory can be produced even under low attentional circumstances. The present study aims to explore the extent to which attention can influence the formation of emotional false memory by adopting a process-dissociation approach. The process dissociation procedure allows one to tease apart the effects of effortful, recollection and nonconscious, automatic influences on memory. Results from the study revealed that positive emotions are the ones that are receiving superior processing, whereby both false and true memory are facilitated in both normal and low attentional circumstances. Negative and neutral information on the other hand, do not show much difference in terms of false and true memory production. Overall, the findings provide evidence that positive information can also be processed pre-attentively and this bias in processing also influences false memory formation.