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Arden Anderson, Kaci Brasher, and Thomas Brehmer
THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON THE MEMORY TRADE-OFF
WEAPONS FOCUS EFFECT/EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY
EMOTION-INDUCED MEMORY TRADE-OFF
Vivid Memory
Kensinger, Garoff-Eaton, Schacter (2007)
Forgetting
Study
Test
30 min delay
METHODS
Stress or Control
Baseline
After Study
Following the Cold
Pressor/Warm Water Task
Before Test
After Test
CORTISOL - TIME POINTS
Stress interacts with several regions of the brain
Previous studies show men have higher cortisol reactions
Stress and cortisol elevations may impair memory retrieval
Examples: test taking, stress on witness stand, etc.
STRESS AND CORTISOL
Hypothalamus -Corticotropin
Releasing Hormone (CRH)
Anterior Pituitary –Adrenocorticotropic Releasing Hormone
(ACTH)
Adrenal Cortex -Cortisol
1. Memory Trade-off Effect
2. Memory retrieval for emotional and neutral items, and backgrounds: Stress Group = Memory
Control Group = No memory change
3. Different effects of stress on memory for males and females.
HYPOTHESES
DID THE STRESSOR INCREASE CORTISOL?
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
TP 1 TP 2 TP 3 TP 4 TP 5
Cor
tisol
Lev
el (n
mol
/l)
Time Point
Control
Stress
F (4, 208) = 38.54, p < 0.001
MEMORY TRADE-OFF?
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Control Stress
% R
emem
bere
d
Group
Neg Item
Neu Item
Neg Background
Neu Background
STRESS GROUP = MEMORY ?
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Control Stress
% R
emem
bere
d
Group
Neg Item
Neu Item
Neg Background
Neu Background
DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF STRESS ON MEMORY FOR MALES AND FEMALES
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Control Stress Control Stress
Male Female
% R
emem
bere
d
N.S.*
A memory trade-off occurred for both stress and control groups.
Females showed that stress impairs memory at retrieval, which is the effect we hypothesized.
Memory results were similar for both stress and control groups, which has implications for the use of eyewitness testimony in the court room.
CONCLUSION
Dr. Katherine Steinmetz
Kayla Branham
Wofford College Psychology Department
Laboratory for Biological Health Psychology at Brandeis University
All of our participants!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
