Recollection of Negative & Positive Images

1. OPTIONALLOGO HERE Recollection of Negative & Positive Images Jackie Davis (Dr. Hildy Schilling, sponsor)Behavioral Sciences OPTIONALLOGO HERE Study Design Results Abstract Discussion The experiment was designed to test the effects of emotional valence and color on recall of pictures. Participants viewed either positive images (e.g., smiling baby) or negative images (e.g., crying baby) that were either printed in black and white or color ink. Next, the participants wrote down the images that they could recall. It was expected that recall would be greater for negative than positive images. It was also expected that recall would be greater for colorful images than for black and white images. Results show that there was no effect of image association on color. The study uses a 2 X 2 between-subjects design with independent variables of stimulus type (positive, negative) and color type (color, black & white). The dependent variable is the number of words recalled. An alpha level of .05 was used for all analyses. The mean number of positive stimuli recalled was 13.85 images, which was not statistically different than the mean number of negative stimuli recalled which was 12.45 images, F(1, 36)=2.411, p=.129. The mean number of colored images recalled was 13.25 images, which was not statistically different than the mean number of black and white images recalled which was 13.05 images, F(1, 36)=.049, p=.826. There was no interaction between image color and image association F(1, 36)=.308, p=.583. This study did not support results by previous researchers. Mean recall for negative images was not greater than that for positive images. Mean recall for colorful pictures was not greater than that for black and white pictures. This could be due to the lack of verification that the images used for the study were proper opposites of each other (a wilting rose and an alive flower). Mean Recall of Images Positive Negative Mean Color 14.2 12.3 13.25 B & W 13.5 12.6 13.05 Mean 13.85 12.45 Introduction Ostergaard and Davidoff (1985) found that colorful images were recalled more frequently than black and white images. Increased recall was a result of the increased ability to distinguish surfaces and textures of the object in colored objects as opposed to black and white objects. According to a media recall study by Porter, Taylor and Brinke (2008), participants recalled more negative images than positive images. The findings suggest that negative media events are stored more vividly in the brain, and thus cause for greater recall than positive images. In this study, a positive image is an image that evokes positive feelings. A negative image is an image that evokes a negative feeling. There are two levels of stimuli; the first is image color (a color or black and white image), and the second is image association (a positive or negative image). References Recall Ostergaard, A, & Davidoff, J. (1985). Some Effects of color on naming and recognition of objects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 11(3), 579-587. Porter, S, Taylor, K, & Brinke, L. (2008). Memory for media: investigation of false memories for negatively and positively charges public events. Memory, 16(6), 658-666. Procedure • Participants viewed 20 images (there were 4 images on 5 separate pages) for 90 seconds. The images shown depended on which group they were assigned to (positive color, positive black/white, negative color or negative black/white). • 2) Participants were then given 90 seconds to recall as many of the images they could remember by writing them on a sheet of paper. # recall Image Association