Part 1 -A review of literature investigating the impact of individual differences in psychological variables on explicit memory for emotional stimuli. Twenty studies were identified in which at least one psychological variable was related to memory performance in relation to emotionally arousing stimuli. These variables were sexrelated traits, cognitive and emotional regulation strategies, trait anxiety, trait dissociation, Alexithymia, positive schizotypy and anhedonia. Overall, results were equivocal, with no variable being consistently associated with difference in memory of emotional stimuli. It is likely that the inconsistency in findings results from methodological problems. Part 2 -An investigation of the impact of schizotypy (psychosis-proneness) on memory for emotional stimuli. Memory of neutral and emotional information was assessed in 28 high and 39 low positive schizotypes. The emotional memory advantage seen in low schizotypes in free recall was absent in high schizotypes. The results suggest that emotional memory difficulties may identify individuals with a vulnerability to psychosis. This is a joint research project carried out with another trainee (Malcolm Scoales, project title: Facial affect recognition and attentional bias towards threat faces in schizotypy). Part 3 -A critical appraisal of the research process. Practical considerations and clinical implications are reflected on.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:625364 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Hoshi, R. |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/925811/ |
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