Date of Award
8-1996
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Malcolm H. Robertson
Second Advisor
Dr. Richard Spates
Third Advisor
Dr. Patricia Meinhold
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Campus Only
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate recall for central and peripheral information of arousing and neutral situations at both immediate and extended retention intervals. Sixty female undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups and compared. The four groups included subjects tested immediately or two weeks after witnessing an arousing or neutral slide presentation.
In contrast to research findings suggesting that arousing events cause a narrowing of attention and result in poorer recall and those suggesting that arousing events enhance recall, statistical analyses in this study revealed no significant differences between groups on percent of information recalled accurately or on subjective certainty measures. Possible reasons for these results are discussed as are the implications of the finding for the field of memory research. Suggestions for future research include a call for further behavioral research into memory.
Recommended Citation
Channell, Shawn E., "Investigating the Effects of Arousal and Retention Interval on Recall of a Rape Scenario" (1996). Masters Theses. 3568.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3568