Evaluating emotion effects on episodic memory: what makes negative information memorable?

Abstract The emotional enhancement effect of memory (EEM), evidenced by the prioritization of negative over neutral information in episodic memory, has primarily been attributed to arousal- and valence-based mechanisms. Recent research, however, has provided evidence suggesting that arousal and valence alone are not sufficient to explain more nuanced emotion memory effects. Here, we proposed that the survival relevance of different affective information could also contribute to the enhancing effects of emotion on memory. In two studies, we assessed whether individuals’ single-item and associative memory differed for negative information that varied in survival relevance (i.e., threat- and disgust-related images versus annoyance-related images) and neutral information. We found partial evidence that survival relevance selectively increased recognition accuracy, specifically for disgust-related items and the paired contexts associated with threat-related items. These findings emphasize the utility of exploring additional mechanisms (e.g., survival relevance) that work in concert with arousal and valence to further elucidate the processes that underlie the interaction between emotion and memory.