Danger! Negative memories ahead

The effect of warnings on reactions to and recall of negative memories

Bibliographic Data

ID21602256
AuthorsVictoria M E Bridgland (0000-0002-8865-8426, Flinders University), Melanie Takarangi (0000-0002-6006-8045, Flinders University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume29
Issue3
Pages319-329
Publication date2021-03-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMemory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0965-8211 • E-ISSN: 1464-0686
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09658211.2021.1892147
PMID33686915
OpenAlexW3135670823
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited46

to come to mind. Warnings supposedly prevent or minimise this distress. But, do warnings really have this effect? To simulate the experience described above, here, we examined whether warning participants-by telling them that recalling a negative event would be distressing-would change characteristics associated with the immediate and delayed recall of a negative event (such as phenomenology e.g., vividness, sense of reliving), compared to participants who we did not warn. Generally, we found that time helps to heal the "emotional wounds" associated with negative memories: negative characteristics-such as emotion, vividness etc.-faded over time. However, the event's emotional impact (the frequency of experiences related to the event such as "I had trouble staying asleep"), subsided less over a two-week delay for participants who were warned in the first session. Our findings suggest that warning messages may prolong the negative characteristics associated with memories over time, rather than prepare people to recall a negative experience

Cognitive psychology · Distress · Distressing · Negative emotion · Recall · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Clinical Psychology · Educational Philosophies and Pedagogies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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