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Previous research has demonstrated the constructive nature of memory, and that memory is

indeed not free from errors. According to Loftus and Pickrell (1995), our memories are
constantly disrupting each other through the mechanism of interference. Furthermore,
research suggests that individuals are susceptible to developing false memories; that is
memories of events which did not actually occur or occurred differently (Ruci, Tomes &
Zelenski, 2009). The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm is a commonly used tool
for studying false memories in a laboratory setting (Dubuisson, Fiori & Nicolas, 2012). In a
DRM task, participants are presented with a list of semantically associated words (eg., note
melody, piano), which are all related to a non-presented critical lure (eg., music). When
participants are later tested on the wordlists, results show that they frequently falsely recall
the critical lure. Participants They are often very confident that the critical lure did indeed
appear on the list, and are able to accurately reproduce it, provide detailed descriptions about
its presentation despite the fact it was never actually presented (Dehon, Laroi & Van der
Linden, 2010).
One of the most prominent theories explaining the high rates of critical lures which
are falsely recalled in the DRM paradigm, is the spreading activation theory (Ruci et al.,
2009). According to this, theory semantically related material is organised in memory by
linking related concepts together. Whenever a concept in memory is activated, the activation
spreads to related concepts in the associated nodal links activate also (or: also fire up).
Therefore, when hearing a list of semantically related words in the DRM paradigm, the
critical lure may be activated due to a this wider spreading, of activation in the associative
networks, which resulting to in its easier accessibility (Ruci et al., 2009).
An extensive literature suggests that emotion may have a powerful impact on memory
(Loftus & Pickrell, 1995): Research has demonstrated that individuals experienced the most
accurate, vivid, and easily recallable memories when emotions were present. of emotional
events, which are often recalled more frequently and with more clarity.

In the DRM paradigm,


further -somewhat inconsistent- research suggests that the extent to which false memories
develop may be influenced by (or: may be directly ascribed to) the emotional valence of the
material being remembered (Dehon et al., 2010; Howe, Candel, Otgaar, Malone & Wimmer,
2010). However, research in this area is somewhat inconsistent.

Budson et al. (2006), investigated the role of emotion in the production of emotions and false
memories. in the DRM paradigm. The findings indicated that there was He found no
significant difference in the recollection of critical lures between the emotional and non
emotional lists: the emotional valence had no significant influence over the production of
false memories. However, according to Dehon et al., 2010, a limitation of the study is this
study is limited, as the wordlists were not matched on mean associative strength, which is
known to impact upon a strong factor in false memory production. He (Dehon et al., 2010),
indeed suggested that DRM lists, which are when strongly associated and share semantic and
emotional similarities, make emotional critical lures less distinct, distinctive resulting in more
critical lures being falsely recalled from emotional lists than non emotional lists ones. (Dehon
et al., 2010). In line with the spreading activation theory, emotional wordlists may facilitate
the spreading of activation, as the emotional words may cause affective priming of the critical
lure (De Houwer, Hermans, Rothermund & Wentura, 2002). Such priming may increase the
activation levels of affective networks compared to semantic networks, resulting in more
critical lures being recalled from emotional lists than neutral lists.
Dehon et al. (2010), himself examined the influence of emotion in the production of
false memories in the DRM paradigm. In one experiment, the experimenter read aloud to the
participants 12 emotionally valenced DRM lists (positive, negative and neutral), comprised
of 12 words (n=36). The participants then performed a recognition test which included
including both the studied items and the critical lures, and were further asked to respond to

the list items they remembered hearing in the list. In contrast to Budson et al. (2006), the
findings indicated that although all lists elicited false recognition of the critical lures,
significantly more falsifying occurred critical lures were falsely recognised in the emotionally
valenced lists than in the neutral ones (Dehon et al). Therefore, the emotional valence of
stimuli in the DRM paradigm may lead to the development of more increased false
memories. than neutral stimuli.(or: Therefore, the emotional valence of stimuli in the DRM
paradigm may lead to increased false memories.)
============================================================
Likewise, Howe et al. (2010), also examined the influence of emotion on the
development of false memories in the DRM paradigm. The participants (n=40) listened to 12
DRM lists (6 negative-emotional and 6 neutral) which were recorded on a tape. Following a
distracter task, participants were required to write down as many words as they could
remember. The findings indicated that the participants recalled significantly more critical
lures from the negative emotion lists then the neutral lists. Therefore, emotional valence did
have an influence on the development of false memories in the DRM paradigm, however
only negative emotional lists were examined.
Although the current literature concerning the influence of emotional valence on the
production of false memories in the DRM paradigm is somewhat inconsistent, there is a
strong body of evidence to suggest there it does indeed have an influence (Dehon et al., 2010;
Howe et al., 2010). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to further investigate the
influence of emotional valence in the production of false memories in the DRM paradigm. It
was hypothesised that participants would produce significantly more critical lures in response
to the negative and positive wordlists than to the neutral wordlists, in the DRM paradigm.
Method
Participants

The participants (n=117) were over the age of 18 and were competent high school
level readers. All participants were free of medication or disorders that may affect their
performance on memory or hearing tasks.
Design
The current study was a within-subjects design. The independent variable was
emotional valence of wordlists, which had three levels (positive, negative and neutral). The
dependent variable was the number of critical lures recalled.
Materials and Procedure
The participants were tested individually in a quiet environment. The experimenter
read aloud one list of words at a time to the participants. There were 12 lists of 12 words,
which were presented in a random order. Within in the 12 lists, four lists were positively
valenced, four lists were negatively valenced, and four lists were neutrally valenced. The
experimenter read aloud the lists at a rate of approximately 1.5 seconds per word. The
participants were then required to count backwards in 3s from a large number for 30
seconds. The participants then wrote down as many words as they could remember in any
order for 90 seconds. This procedure was repeated for the remaining 11 lists.
Results
The number of critical lures recalled by the participants was measured for each of the
emotionally valenced groups of wordlists. The mean number of critical lures recalled in the
negative lists was 1.45 (SE=.096). The mean number of critical lures recalled in the positive
lists was 1.05 (SE=.101). The mean number of critical lures recalled in the neutral lists was
1.41 (SE=.101). The data was analysed using a repeated measures analysis of variance
(ANOVA). The ANOVA was significant, F(1.88, 219.04)=6.59, p.002. However Mauchlys
Test of Sphericity was breached, X2= 7.02, p=.03. As sphericity could not be assumed the
Greenhouse-Geisser model was used to determine the mean difference between the groups. A
post hoc analysis revealed that participants produced significantly more critical lures in

response to positive wordlists than neutral wordlists. The mean difference was .359, p=.027.
It was also revealed that participants did not produce significantly more critical lures in
response to negative wordlists than neutral wordlists as p>.05, and the mean difference was .
043.
Discussion
The hypothesis that participants would produce significantly more critical lures in
response to the negative and positive wordlists than to the neutral wordlists, in the DRM
paradigm was partially supported, as the results indicated that positive lists did indeed elicit
more critical lures than neutral lists, whilst negative lists did not. The finding that participants
produced significantly more critical lures in positive lists than neutral lists is consistent with
research by Dehon et al. (2010), who suggested this finding was due to critical lures in
emotional lists being less distinctive than in neutral lists. Furthermore, positive emotional
valence of the wordlists may have enhanced the spreading of activation in the affective
networks due to the affective priming of the critical lure. The finding that participants did not
produce significantly more critical lures in response to negative wordlists than neutral
wordlists did not support the hypothesis. According to Howe (2007), fewer critical lures may
be produced in negative wordlists compared to neutral wordlists as negative lists may cause
individuals to narrow their attention to the specific features of the negative items. As a result,
individuals engage in more item specific processing, which is known to result in better true
recollection and higher rates of false recollection.
A limitation of the present study is that the task of counting backwards in 3s may
have been stressful for the participants. According to Diamond, Fleshner, Ingersoll and Rose
(1996), psychological stress may cause deficits in short term memory. If participants felt
stressed when presented with the mathematical task, their performance on the memory task
may have been affected. Therefore, the results may have been impacted upon if the
participants performed worse due to this stress. Future research should examine the use of

alternative masks which are less stressful to stop mental rehearsal in the DRM paradigm. The
present study may have implications for a wider population, as the findings demonstrated that
positive emotional valence of stimuli may influence the rate at which false memories
develop. Therefore, everyday positive emotional events may facilitate the production of false
memories in individuals. In conclusion, it is evident that the production of false memories in
the DRM paradigm has been well investigated. However research on the influence of
emotional valence is somewhat inconsistent. In concurrence with research by Dehon et al.
(2010), the present study concluded that positive emotional valence of DRM wordlists,
enhances the production of false memories.
References
Budson, A., Todman, R., Chong, H., Adams, E., Kensinger, E., Krangel, T., et al. (2006).
False recognition of emotional word lists in aging and Alzheimers disease. Cognitive
and Behavioural Neurology, 19, 71-78.
Dehon, H., Laroi, F., & Van der Linden, M. (2010). Affective valence influences
participants susceptibility to false memories and illusory recollection. Emotion, 10,
627-639. doi: 10.1037/a0019595
Diamond, D., Fleshner, M., Ingersoll, N., & Rose, G. (1996). Psychological stress impairs
working memory: Relevance to electrophysiological studies of hippocampal function.
Behavioural Neuroscience, 110, 661-672.
Dubuisson, J., Fiori, N., & Nicolas, S. (2012). Repetition and spacing effects on true and false
recognition in the DRM paradigm. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 53, 382389. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2012.00963.x
Howe, M. (2007). Childrens emotional false memories. Psychological Science, 18, 856-860.
Howe, M., Candel, I., Otgaar, H., Malone, C., & Wimmer, M. (2010). Valence and the
development of immediate and long term false memory illusions. Memory, 18, 58-75.

Loftus, E., & Pickrell, J. (1995). The formation of false memories. Psychiatric Annals, 25,
720-725.
Ruci, L., Tomes, J., & Zelenski, J. (2009). Mood-congruent false memories in the DRM
paradigm. Cognition and Emotion, 23, 1153-1165. doi: 10.1080/02699930802355420

Abstract
The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of emotional valence in the
production of false memories in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm.
Participants (n=117) were presented with 12 DRM wordlists (positive, negative and neutral)
comprised of 12 words. All the lists were semantically related and all converged on non
presented critical lures. Participants were required to count backwards in 3s for 30 seconds
before attempting to recall as many words as they could remember from the lists in 90
seconds. The findings indicated that participants produced significantly more critical lures in
response to positive lists than neutral lists. However there was no significant difference in the
amount of critical lures recalled in response to negative wordlists compared to neutral
wordlists. Therefore,

Cut:
however participants were given a rest if they showed signs of fatigue.
memory may be seen as a network of both semantic and emotional nodes, in which associated
emotional content links information in memory (Ruci et al., 2006). Therefore, incoming

information may activate the affective memory structures, resulting in the affective content of
stimuli contributing to the spreading activation of the emotional nodes.

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