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Running Head: THE EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL AROUSAL ON RECALL
The Effect of Emotional Arousal and Valence on Memory Recall
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Bangor University
Group 14, Thursday Afternoon

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Abstract
This study examined the effect of emotion on memory when recalling positive, negative and neutral events. Four hundred and fourteen participants aged over 18 years were asked to read stories that differed in emotional arousal and valence, and then performed a spatial distraction task before they were asked to recall the details of the stories. Afterwards, participants rated the stories on how emotional they found them, from ‘Very Negative’ to ‘Very Positive’. It was found that the emotional stories were remembered significantly better than the neutral story; however there was no significant difference in recall when a negative mood was induced versus a positive mood. Therefore this research suggests that emotional valence does not affect recall but emotional arousal affects recall to a large extent.

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Emotional arousal has often been found to influence an individual’s recall of past events. It has been documented that highly emotional autobiographical memories tend to be remembered in better detail than neutral events in a person’s life. Structures involved in memory and emotions, the hippocampus and amygdala respectively, are joined in the limbic system within the brain. Therefore, it would seem true that emotions and memory are linked. Many studies have investigated this topic, finding that emotional arousal increases recall. For instance, Kensinger and Corkin (2003) found that individuals remember emotionally arousing words (such as swear words) more than they remember neutral words. This is supported by Cahill and McGaugh (1995), who presented participants with either an emotionally arousing story (concerning a car accident), or a neutral story. The findings showed that participants who read the neutral story recalled less story elements than those who read the arousal one, and memory was enhanced when the emotional element was introduced in the arousal story. Thus, it would seem that emotions can significantly enhance memories. However, the studies mentioned have only investigated memory using negative emotions and stimuli. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether it is the emotional valence or arousal that is responsible for enhanced recall.

There is considerable evidence to suggest that the emotional valence an individual feels can affect recall of memories. Some argue that negative emotion makes one focus, and thus one can remember details better (Kensinger, 2007). This idea is supported by Kensinger, Garoff-Eaton and Schacter (2005), who found that negatively arousing content increases the likelihood of remembering visual details about an object. However, this is disputed to some extent by Yeung, Dalgleish, Golden and Schartau (2006) who found an induced negative mood reduced the specificity of autobiographical memories. Gasper & Clore (2002) added to this suggesting positive moods make people remember general information while negative

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moods make people focus on detail, thus recall of detail should be better when a negative mood is induced.

Therefore, this study investigated the effect of emotional arousal on recall, and also examined recall after negative and positive arousal was induced. It was a between subjects experiment with four conditions. Participants were given two stories to read, one of which contained emotional content. The first condition had participants read a negative story followed by a neutral story, the second condition was a neutral story followed by a negative one, the third condition was a positive story followed by a neutral one and the last was a neutral story followed by a positive one. After reading each story once, participants were asked to perform a distraction task before completing a free recall task about the information in the stories. The hypotheses for this research was that recall of the stories with emotional content will be higher than recall of the stories with neutral content, and that recall will be higher when the neutral story is preceded by the negative story than when preceded by the positive story.

Method

Participants

An opportunity sample of 414 male and female participants, over the age of 18, was collected.

Measures

Recall was measured by giving participants a free recall task, to write down as much information they could remember about each story (see Appendices A, B & C) on separate, blank pieces of paper. One point was given for each correct phrase the participant recalled that corresponded to the experimenters standardised mark scheme and the maximum amount

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for each story was 20 points (see Appendix D). Participants were given a scale for each story they read after the experiment to rate how the story made them feel, from ‘Very Negative’ to ‘Very Positive’ with ‘Neutral’ in the middle (see Appendix E). This was used to find out if a particular mood had been successfully induced in participants, and to see how they had perceived the stories.

Stimuli and Apparatus

Three different stories were used as stimuli in this research. There was one negative story (see Appendix A), one positive (see Appendix B) and one neutral (see Appendix C). Two of the stories were presented to participants, one of which was always neutral and the other contained emotional content. The neutral story was about dive watches, adapted from Ellerby (2004) whereas the emotional stories were about a boy who had been taken to hospital after a car accident (negative) or had been taken to hospital to visit a new sibling (positive), adapted from Cahill & McGaugh (1995). Blank pieces of paper were used for the participants to complete the distraction task of drawing a map, and the free recall tasks about the stories. A rating scale concerning the mood of the participants after reading both stories was also used (see Appendix E).

Design

The independent variables were the level of emotional content (either emotional or neutral) in the first hypothesis, and the valence of emotional content (positive or negative) in the second hypothesis. Participants were put into four different conditions, where they received one of the following: the neutral story followed by the positive story, the neutral story followed by the negative story, the positive story followed by the neutral story or the negative story followed by the neutral story. This was a between-groups design because participants could not be in more than one condition, in case rehearsal affected memory.

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Participants read the two stories they were given and were asked to complete a spatial distraction task (drawing a map of their way to work or university) to prevent rehearsal. They then freely recalled information about the stories on blank paper, and points were awarded according to the mark scheme (see Appendix D). Thus, the dependent variable was how much correct information participants recalled from the stories. To reduce experimenter bias, standardised instructions were used (see Appendix F).

Procedure

Participants read the standardised instructions and signed the consent form (see
Appendix G) before reading the two stories presented to them. The stories were taken away and participants completed a distraction task, consisting of drawing a map of their way to work or university. Participants then were given two pieces of paper and asked to write down any information they recalled from the stories on separate sheets. They were given a time limit of five minutes for this free recall task so all participants had the same amount of time to recall information. Afterwards, participants were asked to rate the stories depending on how each story made them feel, e.g. Very Negative, Quite Positive, Neutral etc. Participants were debriefed afterwards (see Appendix H), and the aims of the research and their right to withdraw were explained.

Results
The results of the recall for the emotional stories and neutral stories are illustrated in
Figure 1. It was hypothesised that recall of the stories with emotional content will be higher than recall of the stories with neutral content. The results showed recall for the emotional stories was higher (M = 8.48, SD = 3.11) than that for the neutral story (M = 5.63, SD = 2.75) but little difference between recall for stories presented first (M = 7.00, SD = 3.33) and

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second (M = 7.11, SD = 3.20).

     

 

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  • 
  • 

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Figure 1. The mean percentage recall of the emotional stories when presented first
(n=104) and second (n=103) and neutral story when presented first (n=103) and second (n=104). The error bars represent 1 SE of the mean.

A two-factor analysis of variance carried out on the results confirmed a main effect of story F(1, 409) = 96.97, p < .001, 2 = .19 but no main effect of order F(1, 409) = 0.13, p = .72, 2 = .01 and no significant interaction F(1, 409) = 0.69, p = .41, 2 = .01. An LSD test carried out post-hoc shows the recall for the emotional stories were significantly higher than that of the neutral story, p < .05. This will be used as evidence to support the claim that emotional details are more likely to be remembered than neutral details.

The results of the recall after positive and negative mood induction are illustrated in
Figure 2. The hypothesis stated that recall will be higher when the neutral story is preceded by the negative story than when preceded by the positive story. The results showed similar recall for the neutral story when it followed the positive story (M= 6.24, SD=2.45) and the negative story (M= 5.50, SD= 2.82).

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     


  • 
  • 



Figure 2. The mean recall of the neutral story after participants read the positive story
(n=43) and the negative story (n=61). The error bars represent 1 SE of the mean.

An independent samples t-test carried out on the data showed no significant difference between recall for the neutral story when a positive mood or when negative mood was induced, t(102) = 1.39, p = .17. This will be used as evidence to refute the claim that being in a negative mood will improve memory for details more than being in a positive mood.

The story ratings from participants showed the positive story was rated most positively, (M = 1.56, SD = 1.17) and the negative story was rated most negatively, (M = - 1.93, SD = 0.87) but the neutral story was rated slightly negatively, (M = -0.13, SD = 0.52).

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
  



Figure 3. The mean valence ratings for the positive, neutral and negative stories (n=
414). The error bars represent 1 SE of the mean.

A one-way analysis of variance conducted on the story ratings showed a significant difference between all three mean ratings. Post-hoc tests confirmed the positive story was rated significantly more positive and the negative story was rated significantly more negative.

Discussion
The purpose of this research was to determine whether emotional content is remembered better than neutral content, and to investigate whether inducing a negative mood in participants would improve memory more than a positive mood. The results showed that participants were significantly more likely to recall emotional content than neutral content; however there was no difference in recall when a negative or positive mood was induced. Therefore, the findings are consistent with the first hypothesis, but not the second. The findings for the first hypothesis agree with previous research in this area. For instance, Kensinger and Corkin (2003) found that individuals remember emotional stimuli more than they remember neutral stimuli. However, the findings for the second hypothesis, concerning
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emotional valence, do not agree with previous research. Yeung, Dalgleish, Golden and Schartau (2006) found an induced negative mood reduced the specificity of autobiographical memories. Other research has also found significant differences when it comes to inducing positive and negative moods. Kensinger, Garoff-Eaton and Schacter (2005) found that negatively arousing content increases the likelihood of remembering details. Thus, our findings for the second hypothesis are not consistent with previous results. Perhaps our stimuli were not emotionally arousing enough, as results from ratings showed that most participants found the emotional stories to be only ‘Quite Negative’ or ‘Quite Positive’.

There are several ways in which this study could be furthered. Firstly, the sample used included older adults, and it has been found that the memory of older adults is not as good as that of younger adults (Taylor, Miller & Tinklenberg, 1992). Therefore there may have been a main effect of age that was never tested. To further this research, participants could be split into groups of younger and older adults, thereby creating a three factor design when investigating emotional versus neutral content. Another issue was the ratings of the emotional stories. Results from the ratings showed that although the stories were rated how we expected, participants did not consider the stories ‘Very Positive’ or ‘Very Negative’, thus we may not have induced a strong enough mood in participants, therefore a pilot study should have been used to test the emotionality of the stimuli, and if this study were replicated the emotional stories should contain more emotional content.

There are theoretical and practical implications to this research. Firstly, these results add to the literature in the area concerning memory and emotion, and fit partially with what we already know. That is, that emotion enhances memory. Therefore we can apply the findings of the first hypothesis to learning; attaching some emotion to information that needs to be remembered could help one recall it, for instance in an exam setting. It also helps explain Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as this disorder comes about from emotion being
Effect of Emotional Arousal 11

involved with memory. Further research into this area could bring about treatments for this particular disorder. The results for the second hypothesis imply that memory is just as good when in a negative or positive mood, therefore we could apply this to autobiographical memories and suggest that people will remember just as many negative as positive events in their lives. This can also be used in education, like the results of the first hypothesis, as it suggests we can remember information from subjects we dislike as well as information from subjects we enjoy.
Effect of Emotional Arousal 12

References

Cahill, L. & McGaugh J. L. (1995). A novel demonstration of enhanced memory associated with

emotional arousal. Consciousness and Cognition, 4, 410-421.
Ellerby, D. (2004). The diving manual: An introduction to scuba diving. Richmond,

Surrey: Circle Books.

Gasper, K. & Clore, G. L. (2002). Attending to the big picture: mood and global versus local processing of visual information. Psychological Science, 13, 34–40. doi: 10.1111/1467-

9280.00406
Kensinger, E. A. (2007). Negative emotion enhances memory accuracy: Behavioural and

neuroimaging evidence. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16 (4), 213-218. doi:

10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00506
Kensinger, E. A. & Corkin, S. (2003). Memory enhancement for emotional words: Are emotional words more vividly remembered than neutral words? Memory & Cognition, 31 (8), 1169- 1180. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/bnl/pdf/Kensinger_Corkin_MC03.pdf

Kensinger, E. A., Garoff-Eaton, R. J. & Schacter, D. L. (2007). Effects of emotion on memory

specificity in young and older adults. Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 62, 208-

215. Retrieved from http://psychsoc.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/reprint/62/4/P208
Taylor, J. L., Miller, T. P. & Tinklenberg, J. R. (1992). Correlates of memory decline: a 4-year longitudinal study of older adults with memory complaints. Psychol Aging., 7 (2), 185-193. doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.7.2.185

Yeung, C., Dalgleish, T., Golden, A. & Schartau, P. (2005). Reduced specificity of autobiographical memories following a negative mood induction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44 (10), 1481-1490.

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Appendices
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Appendix A Negative Story
A father and his son were leaving home in the morning. He was taking him to visit his mother. The mother was a laboratory technician at Victoria Memorial Hospital. They checked before crossing a busy road. While crossing the road, the boy was caught in a terrible accident, which critically injured him. At the hospital, staff prepared Accident & Emergency, and the boy was rushed in. An image from a brain scan machine showed severe bleeding in the boy’s brain. All morning, a surgical team struggled to save the boy’s life. Specialised surgeons were able to re-attach the boy’s severed feet. After the surgery, while the mother stayed with the boy, the father left to phone his other child’s nursery. Feeling distraught, he phoned the nursery to tell them he would soon pick up his child. Heading to pick up his child, he hailed a taxi at the number 9 bus stop.
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Appendix B Positive Story
A father and his son were leaving home in the morning. He was taking him to visit his mother. The mother was in the maternity ward at Victoria Memorial Hospital. They checked before crossing a busy road. While walking along, the father received a phone-call to say the mother had given birth. The father told his son that he had a new baby brother. The boy felt very excited. At the hospital, the boy rushed to his mother’s bedside. The boy held his baby brother for the first time. Staff in the ward took a photograph of the smiling boy and his brother. After, while the boy stayed with his mother, the father left to phone his other child’s nursery. Feeling elated, he phoned the nursery to tell them he would soon pick up his child. Heading to pick up his child, he hailed a taxi at the number 9 bus stop.
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Appendix C Neutral Story
Dive watches come in two basic forms. First, the traditional analogue type with a calibrated bezel used to measure dive duration. Second the digital type, which is essentially a sophisticated waterproof stopwatch. There is no doubt that the heavy analogue diver’s watch is much more of an eye-catcher in the pub. However, with the best will in the world it is not easy to read dive times from the bezel to anything like the accuracy of a digital watch or dive computer. Many analogue divers have failed to correctly time their dive. Sometimes because they have forgotten to correctly align the bezel at the start of the dive. Other times because they have accidentally rotated the bezel during the dive. Of course, forgetting to start a digital instrument can also result in inaccurate time measuring. However, most modern dive computers are pressure-triggered and will start automatically at the beginning of the dive.
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Appendix D
Standardised Mark Scheme for Negative and Neutral Story Recall.
Rules:- Exact words are not needed, meaning must be intact. Allocate half points where appropriate. If information is crosses, irrelevant or untrue, allocate zero points. Maximum of 20 points for each story.

Neutral Story:-
1. Two types of watch = 2 points 2. Analogue = 1 point 3. Calibrated bezel = 2 points 4. Digital = 1 point 5. Sophisticated waterproof stopwatch = 2 points 6. Analogue eye catching in pub = 1 point 7. Analogue not as easy to read = 1 point 8. As digital or dive computer = 2 points 9. Analogue incorrect dive time = 1 point 10. Forgotten to align bezel = 1 point 11. Accidentally rotated bezel = 1 point 12. Forget to start digital = 1 point 13. Inaccurate time measuring = 1 point 14. Modern dive computer = 1 point 15. Pressure triggered = 1 point 16. Automatic start = 1 point

Negative Story:-
1. Father and son = 1 point 2. Leaving home in morning = 1 point 3. Visit mum = 1 point 4. Lab technician = 1 point 5. Victoria Memorial Hospital = 2 point 6. Checked road = 1 point 7. Boy caught in accident = 1 point 8. A+E prepared and rushed in = 2 point 9. Brain scan and bleeding = 2 point 10. Surgical team struggle to save life = 2 point 11. Specialists reattach feet = 1 point 12. Mother stayed with boy = 1 point 13. Dad phoned nursery = 1 point 14. Distraught, soon to pick up child = 1 point 15. Taxi no. 9 bus stop = 2 points
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Positive Story: -
1) Father & son - 1 point 2) Leaving home in morning - 1 point 3) Visit mother - 1 point 4) Maternity ward - 1 point 5) Victoria Memorial Hospital - 2 points 6) Phone call to father - 1 point 7) Mum given birth - 1 point 8) New baby brother - 1 point 9) Boy excited - 1 point 10) Boy rushed to mum’s bedside - 2 points 11) Held baby brother - 1 point 12) Staff photo of smiling boy & brother - 2 points 13) Boy stayed with mum - 1 point 14) Dad phoned nursery - 1 point 15) Elated soon pick up child - 1 point 16) Taxi at no. 9 bus stop - 2 points
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Appendix E
Story Rating Sheet

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  • The Intermediality of Emotion Representations of Emotionality and Fear in Youtube Vlogs and Beyond

    The Intermediality of Emotion Representations of Emotionality and Fear in Youtube Vlogs and Beyond

    The Intermediality of Emotion Representations of Emotionality and Fear in YouTube Vlogs and Beyond SILKE JANDL 1. INTRODUCTION Showing emotions is a core component of successful YouTube vloggers’ ca- reers. The overt expression of emotions, i.e. emotionality that suggests to view- ers that the expression of emotion is an outburst of authentic feelings, is a pre- condition for the intricate relationships viewers develop with YouTubers. Thus, conveying genuineness in displaying emotions in vlogs is a highly effective tool. Emotionality regarded as genuine in YouTube vlogs elicits higher view counts and generates an increased number of sympathetic as well as accusatory com- ments. Appreciative as well as derogatory comments ultimately translate into financial gain; this is especially the case on channels that normally produce content that is not centred on emotional outbursts. Perceived emotional authen- ticity aids in the fostering of loyal fanbases that are keen on consuming their content as well as building communities. The communities centred around YouTube personalities are often based on the emotionality that is frequently implied in vlogs, and as David Matsumoto claims, emotional expressions are fundamental building blocks of social interaction.1 Even though bursts of emo- tion “[…] are often produced in a spontaneous and unintentional fashion, some- times defying efforts of expression control or emotion regulations, they can be produced intentionally and strategically, often with the aim of bestowing greater 1 Matsumoto 2009: 175-176. 176 | SILKE JANDL authenticity or naturalness to one’s emotional display”.2 Encouraging the notion of authenticity certainly is of key importance and can determine a YouTube vlogger’s professional success.
  • Curiosity and the Pleasures of Learning: Wanting and Liking New Information

    Curiosity and the Pleasures of Learning: Wanting and Liking New Information

    COGNITION AND EMOTION 2005, 19 "6), 793±814 Curiosity and the pleasures of learning: Wanting and liking new information Jordan A. Litman University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA This paper proposes a new theoretical model of curiosity that incorporates the neuroscience of ``wanting'' and ``liking'', which are two systems hypothesised to underlie motivation and affective experience for a broad class of appetites. In developing the new model, the paper discusses empirical and theoretical limita- tions inherent to drive and optimal arousal theories of curiosity, and evaluates these models in relation to Litman and Jimerson's "2004) recently developed interest- deprivation "I/D) theory of curiosity. A detailed discussion of the I/D model and its relationship to the neuroscience of wanting and liking is provided, and an inte- grative I/D/wanting-liking model is proposed, with the aim of clarifying the complex nature of curiosity as an emotional-motivational state, and to shed light on the different ways in which acquiring knowledge can be pleasurable. Curiosity is a gift, a capacity of pleasure in knowing. "Ruskin, 1819) The gratification of curiosity rather frees us from uneasiness than confers pleasure; we are more pained by ignorance than delighted by instruction. "Johnson, 1751) Curiosity may be defined as a desire to know, to see, or to experience that motivates exploratory behaviour directed towards the acquisition of new information "Berlyne, 1949, 1960; Collins, Litman, & Spielberger, 2004; Litman & Jimerson, 2004; Litman & Spielberger, 2003; Loewenstein, 1994). Like other appetitive desires "e.g., for food or sex), curiosity is associated with approach behaviour and experiences of reward "Berlyne, 1960, 1966; Loewenstein, 1994).
  • Emotionality and Second Language Writers: Expressing Fear Through Narrative in Thai and in English

    Emotionality and Second Language Writers: Expressing Fear Through Narrative in Thai and in English

    L2 Journal, Volume 5 (2013), pp. 59-75 http://repositories.cdlib.org/uccllt/l2/vol5/iss1/art4/ Emotionality and Second Language Writers: Expressing Fear through Narrative in Thai and in English PISARN BEE CHAMCHARATSRI University of New Mexico E-mail: [email protected] Writing to express emotions can be a challenging task for second language (L2) writers, especially because it tends to be a process that is less addressed in language classrooms. This paper aims to expand thinking on L2 literacy and writing by exploring how L2 writers can express emotion (fear) through narratives both in their first language (L1) and second language (L2). With a small number of participants, the study reports that narrative writing can be helpful in creating venues for L2 writers to become aware of linguistic and cultural aspects of their first (Thai) and second (English) languages. By providing personally significant writing prompts, L2 writers can reflect on their personal experiences and gain understanding about themselves linguistically, culturally, and emotionally. The paper concludes with pedagogical suggestions for how writing teachers can introduce both positive and negative emotions in L2 classrooms. _______________ INTRODUCTION Where is emotion in the pedagogies of second language writing? In the work of researchers such as Hanauer (2010), Pavlenko (2005) and Kramsch (2009), there is recognition that the personal histories and emotional lives of language learners are significant for second language learning. But language teaching research tends to avoid emotionality as a result of an overreliance on the belief that language learning is solely a cognitive activity (Hanauer, 2012). In contrast to this mainstream position, Hanauer (2012) states that learning another language is “a significant, potentially life-changing, event” (p.
  • A Review of Alexithymia and Emotion Perception in Music, Odor, Taste, and Touch

    A Review of Alexithymia and Emotion Perception in Music, Odor, Taste, and Touch

    MINI REVIEW published: 30 July 2021 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.707599 Beyond Face and Voice: A Review of Alexithymia and Emotion Perception in Music, Odor, Taste, and Touch Thomas Suslow* and Anette Kersting Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality trait characterized by deficits in recognizing and verbalizing one’s emotions. It has been shown that alexithymia is related to an impaired perception of external emotional stimuli, but previous research focused on emotion perception from faces and voices. Since sensory modalities represent rather distinct input channels it is important to know whether alexithymia also affects emotion perception in other modalities and expressive domains. The objective of our review was to summarize and systematically assess the literature on the impact of alexithymia on the perception of emotional (or hedonic) stimuli in music, odor, taste, and touch. Eleven relevant studies were identified. On the basis of the reviewed research, it can be preliminary concluded that alexithymia might be associated with deficits Edited by: in the perception of primarily negative but also positive emotions in music and a Mathias Weymar, University of Potsdam, Germany reduced perception of aversive taste. The data available on olfaction and touch are Reviewed by: inconsistent or ambiguous and do not allow to draw conclusions. Future investigations Khatereh Borhani, would benefit from a multimethod assessment of alexithymia and control of negative Shahid Beheshti University, Iran Kristen Paula Morie, affect. Multimodal research seems necessary to advance our understanding of emotion Yale University, United States perception deficits in alexithymia and clarify the contribution of modality-specific and Jan Terock, supramodal processing impairments.
  • Physiology & Behavior

    Physiology & Behavior

    Physiology & Behavior 123 (2014) 93–99 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Physiology & Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/phb Behavioural and physiological expression of arousal during decision-making in laying hens A.C. Davies a,⁎,A.N.Radfordb,C.J.Nicola a Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group, School of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK b School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK HIGHLIGHTS • Anticipatory arousal was detectable around the time of decision-making in chickens. • Increased heart-rate and head movements were measured prior to preferred goal access. • More head movements were measured when two preferred goals were available. • Fewer head movements were measured preceding decisions not to access a goal. • Provides an important foundation for exploring arousal during animal decision-making. article info abstract Article history: Human studies suggest that prior emotional responses are stored within the brain as associations called somatic Received 11 January 2013 markers and are recalled to inform rapid decision-making. Consequently, behavioural and physiological Received in revised form 1 October 2013 indicators of arousal are detectable in humans when making decisions, and influence decision outcomes. Here Accepted 18 October 2013 we provide the first evidence of anticipatory arousal around the time of decision-making in non-human animals. Available online 24 October 2013 Chickens were subjected to five experimental conditions, which varied in the number (one versus two), type (mealworms or empty bowl) and choice (same or different) of T-maze goals. As indicators of arousal, heart- Keywords: Chicken rate and head movements were measured when goals were visible but not accessible; latency to reach the Choice goal indicated motivation.
  • Critical Emotionality: the Unspoken Pain of Latinx Womxn of Color Undergraduates in Higher Education Through Their Community-Engaged Service

    Critical Emotionality: the Unspoken Pain of Latinx Womxn of Color Undergraduates in Higher Education Through Their Community-Engaged Service

    Critical Emotionality: The Unspoken Pain of Latinx Womxn of Color Undergraduates in Higher Education Through their Community-Engaged Service By Gema Cardona A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Zeus Leonardo, Chair Professor Lisa Garcia Bedolla Professor Nikki Jones Spring 2021 Abstract Critical Emotionality: The Unspoken Pain of Latinx Womxn of Color Undergraduates in Higher Education Through their Community-Engaged Service by Gema Cardona Doctor of Philosophy in Education University of California, Berkeley Professor Zeus Leonardo, Chair Research suggests that a college degree leads to greater civic engagement. However, less is known about the ways that civic engagement while enrolled at an institution of higher education influences college navigation, particularly for self-identified Latinx womxn of color undergraduates. Yet, this body of literature tends to emphasize the cultural and social benefits of the college student. That is, how community engagement is transformative for the individual student, rather than placing a greater focus on the communities they engage with through the service-learning program. Thereby the question guiding this investigation is as follows: How do Latinx womxn of color undergraduates make meaning of community engagement in various forms of both institutionalized and non-institutionalized forms of service learning they participate in, both as experienced and conceptually? To answer this question, I employ a testimonio and pláticas methodology to collect and analyze the collective understanding of intersectional forms of oppression experienced directly in the communities as witnessed by the Latinx womxn.