sign in sign up
<<
Home , Attention, Negativity bias

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in

The Relationship Between Attention and the Negativity in Carolyn Doty Union College

ABSTRACT. Humans are more likely to attend to and emotionally salient events. Among emotional events, people are more likely to remember negative over positive or neutral events. They are also more likely to attend to a stimulus with a negative or threatening valence. This tendency is advantageous as it can alter the way in which people recognize and avoid threatening situations. Individuals are better at attending to and recalling negative feedback; this is reflective of their to be accepted socially. Negative stimuli are less common in everyday; the negativity bias in attention and memory is partially explained by the distinctiveness of negative events. In this review, I propose that negativity in memory are the result of negativity biases in attention. Key Words: Attention, Memory, Negativity Bias

In addition to itself, the When we remember events from our past, each valence of an emotional memory has an impact memory is remembered with varying amounts of on the likelihood that the memory will be detail. For some , we can recall vivid encoded and recalled. Researchers have noted a details about where we were, who we were with, negativity bias in people’s recollection of events. what was said, how we felt, or even what color When it comes to specific circumstances and shirt a person might have been wearing. For details, studies have shown that people are better other memories, our recollection is hazy, we at recalling negative events rather than positive may remember that we attended an event but not ones (Boals et al., 2014). For example, we may be able to recall who was there or what was be better at remembering the details surrounding discussed. You may not remember what you had an occasion when we were insulted than when for breakfast today but you may be able to recall we were complimented. The process of both what you ate at a dinner party one month ago. and retrieval of memories of negative Emotionally based events are recalled events involves more activity in sensory areas of easier and with more detail than events without the than positive events (Mickley & any emotional significance. The same is true for Kensinger, 2008). It is more likely that an emotional stimuli, as emotional words are individual will remember negative feedback as recalled more accurately than neutral ones opposed to positive feedback. This negativity (Mickley & Kensinger, 2008). can be beneficial. People are more likely to information and memories are processed in a recognize and remember threatening stimuli than way that is distinct from how neutral neutral stimuli in addition to being more likely information is processed. This is exemplified by to remember the negative behaviors of others. an increased activation of the amygdala, an area Being able to quickly recognize threatening of the brain associated with the processing of situations allows an individual to promptly avoid threatening and emotional stimuli and as the situation; therefore, increasing their chance well as in the encoding of survival. The ability to expedite our and retrieval of memories of emotional stimuli acknowledgement of a threatening situation is (Phelps & LeDoux, 2005). Furthermore, reinforced by our memories of similar individuals with damage to the amygdala are threatening events in our past. likely to forget emotional and neutral stimuli this negativity bias is particularly important as equally. people are being more frequently exposed to negative events and images through television

1

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology and social media. When a negative event such as they are more likely to pay attention to a terrorist attack or major scandal occurs, details threatening situations (Huang et al., 2017). and images of the event are presented Individuals prioritize emotional stimuli, with a repetitively throughout media. It is necessary particular focus on negative stimuli, yet that we are able to understand the mechanisms researchers have yet to come to a consensus on behind the negativity bias, in order to mitigate whether attention is required for emotional any detrimental effects of the increase in processing (Pessoa et al., 2002b). Some argue exposure to negative events. that certain emotional stimuli can be processed The negativity bias in has been automatically while others argue that attentional speculated to be the result of a tendency to resources are required to process emotional attend to negative/threatening emotional stimuli. stimuli (Vuilleumier et al., 2001; Pessoa et al., Attention is a cognitive resource which involves 2002a). In this paper, I will argue that prioritizing the processing of certain stimuli individuals are better at remembering the details while ignoring other information in a person’s of negative events over positive events as a environment (Anderson, 1990). Attention has a result of a negativity bias in attention. limited capacity, meaning that we are unable to Emotion and Attentional Resources perceive every stimulus in our environment Emotional stimuli are processed faster simultaneously. For example, if we are than neutral stimuli and among emotional performing two demanding tasks concurrently, it stimuli, negative emotional stimuli are processed is more difficult to perform as well on both tasks fastest. Emotional processing refers to a person’s than if we were to perform each task ability to recognize and comprehend the individually. The it becomes difficult to magnitude of the valence of an emotionally attend to multiple tasks is that each task requires salient stimulus. Vuilleumier et al. (2001), found the use of additional attentional resources which that the sight of emotional faces activates the reflect the amount of our limited attentional amygdala regardless of whether participants capacity used in the completion of a task and the intended to focus on them or was consciously of an environmental stimulus. When aware of their presence. Because emotional we become more accustomed to performing a stimuli are processed before non-emotional task or recognizing a stimulus through practice, stimuli, an argument can be made that emotional it can become automatic. When a task becomes stimuli are processed preattentively (Vuilleumier automatic, it can be performed without the use et al., 2001). This of a preattentive of attentional resources; tasks that require the priority in the processing of emotional stimuli active use of attentional resources are considered has led to much debate over the relationship to be controlled, requiring conscious between attentional mechanisms and the (Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977). Encoding is the processing of emotional stimuli. process by which we learn information A consensus has yet to emerge among perceived through attention so that it can be researchers regarding whether or not emotional stored in our long-term memories. Retrieval is processing even requires attentional resources. the process in which we access these memories. In one camp, researchers argue that the In short, attention plays a significant role in the processing of emotional stimuli is independent memory processes. of attentional awareness. In the other camp, People have an innate desire for social researchers argue that the processing of inclusion and wish to gain acceptance within emotional stimuli is dependent on the their community. Despite their relative availability of attentional resources. Past infrequency, negative interactions shape the way research has not been able to clarify whether or in which people behave as they are an indicator not attentional resources are required for that something they had done did not result in emotional processing as research on emotion the desired outcome. For this reason, people and attention can be interpreted as providing spend more time looking at negative feedback evidence for both arguments. over positive feedback, they are more likely to In the process of attention, stimuli attend to faces expressing negative emotion, and compete for use of attentional resources; a

2

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology person is unable to pay attention to every the information is needed. The processes stimulus in their environment as once all involved in the formation of episodic memories attentional resources are being used, additional are impacted by the emotionality of an event stimuli cannot be processed. Thus, a person’s (Phelps, 2006). Emotional memories are recalled ability to focus on an object is dependent on more readily and with more accuracy than their perceptual load, which refers to the amount events with no emotional significance. Phelps of attentional resources currently being used by and LeDoux (2005) found that emotional an individual (Lavie, 1995). Since emotional processing is characterized by an increase in stimuli are preferentially processed, the amygdalar activity, providing evidence that relationship between attentional mechanisms emotional memories are encoded and recalled and emotional processing is difficult to differently than neutral memories. determine. Pessoa et al. (2002) attempted to Among emotional memories, events elucidate the connection between attentional surrounding negative and moods are resources and emotional processing. They processed differently from positive or neutral presented the image of faces either expressing events. The of an individual during an happy, fearful or neutral emotions with bars of event can be induced by the valence of the varying orientations at the top corners of the stimuli around them and their emotion can shape screen. Participants were separated into either an what information they process from their attentive condition where they were asked to environment. People are more likely to recall look at the facial expression and identify if the emotional words than neutral ones; this effect is face was male or female, or the inattentive even more significant for negative emotional condition where they were asked to look at and words than positive ones (Dewhurst & Parry, describe the orientation of the bars. They 2000). measured participants neural functioning using Visual stimuli can be processed both fMRI while they observed the visual stimuli. locally, based on their specific details, and What they found was that emotional faces were globally, based on their holistic structure. only attended to when enough attentional Gasper and Clore (2002) proposed that resources were available as areas involved with individuals in sad moods were more likely to emotional processing were significantly more process information locally and individuals in active for participants in the attentive condition. positive moods were more likely to process This corresponded to a decrease in the amygdala information globally. In order to test this, activity associated with emotional stimuli, participants were assigned to one of three groups particularly the difference in activity where they were asked to write about an corresponding to the valence of the emotional experience that was either negative, positive, or face. Thus the valence and impact of emotional neutral. Participants in the negative condition stimuli is not processed when there is not a reported that they experienced greater levels of sufficient amount of attentional I resources after completing the writing task and available. The processing of emotional stimuli at participants in the positive condition reported a least to some degree depends on the availability happy mood after completing the writing task. of attentional resources. Following the writing task, participants were Processing Negative Emotional Events asked to rate whether a target object was more The process of memory formation and like an object that had the same global features recall is dependent on attention. When humans but different local features or one that has the are less focused on a stimulus during encoding, same local features but different global features. they are less likely to be able to recall it later on, Participants in the negative condition were more than if they were fully focused on the stimulus likely to match the objects based on local during encoding (Craik et al., 1996). The initial features than participants in the positive stage of forming an is condition. Their results indicated that when encoding, where information is initially learned. processing stimuli, individuals in a negative Following encoding, information will be stored emotional state are more attentive to specific so that it can be accessed during retrieval when details while individuals in positive emotional

3

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology state focus on more general details which can one a threatening stimulus has been detected, it impact the information they are able to can be avoided. Therefore, it is important that remember. humans are able to prioritize threatening stimuli. The impact of valence on the type of People are faster and more efficient at detecting information that is attended to and processed can angry faces in a crowd over faces with neutral explain why there is a difference between how expressions or other emotions (Hansen & well people can recall positive and negative Hansen, 2012). Thus our naturally events. This difference in processing is not only prioritize the processing of angry faces, and this behaviorally apparent as negative emotional is beneficial because irate individuals are more events are processed differently in the brain. In likely to behave in a threatening way toward some areas of the brain, neural activity is others. correlated to the processing of various emotions, Since we prioritize the processing of the processing of positive, negative and neutral angry faces, we are more likely to encode the stimuli are also correlated to activity in differing specific attributes indicative of the threatening regions of the brain. Mickley and Kensinger emotion. When people are more attentive to (2008) explored the neural correlates of negative events, they are more likely to be able encoding and remembering negative vs. positive to recall them at a later time. The ability to emotional stimuli. They showed participants remember a threatening event allows people to images and words that were associated with utilize that memory in order to recognize the either a negative, positive, or neutral emotional warning signs, when a future event has the valence. Then participants were scanned using potential to become dangerous. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Age contributes to the way in which as they were shown these images and words. negative memories are attended to, reflected on Lastly, 30-minutes after being exposed to the and recalled. Older adults are better at regulating stimuli, participants completed a surprise their emotions (St. Jacques, 2009. When recognition task and were asked whether they examining the difference between how younger remember the stimuli vividly or familiarly. adults view their negative memories in Negative stimuli were remembered more vividly comparison with older adults, Boals et al. (2014) than positive or neutral stimuli. Furthermore, found a discrepancy between the two age they found that increased activity in certain categories. They asked participants to recollect temporo-occipital sensory processing regions negative memories and to subsequently occurred when negative stimuli were complete a questionnaire. When comparing the remembered, suggesting that negative responses of the two groups, they found that, experiences are remembered differently. Thus, when reflecting on negative autobiographical negative information is remembered more events, older adults experienced less of an vividly because sensory information is processed emotional response, and significantly less and attended to, to a greater extent during negative emotions associated with the event. negative events. Their results support the idea that older adults Survival and Recognition of Threat develop more emotionally adaptive ways of Though the experience of focusing on handling negative emotions. Results from and remembering negative emotional stimuli is functional studies suggest that unpleasant, a negativity bias in attention and older adults process and remember negative memory is advantageous in certain situations. emotional events differently from younger This is because having a negativity bias in individuals. Older adults are less likely to attention and memory may be evolutionarily remember negative stimuli. St. Jacques et al. beneficial. The increased likelihood of (2009) found that when viewing and recalling remembering negative events is useful as it can negative pictures, older adults showed more encourage the recognition of threats in order to activity in the right amygdala and young adults avoid them and therefore improve survivability. showed more activity in the left amygdala. Attending to and recognizing a potentially When compared with young adults, older adults threatening stimulus is necessary for survival as showed differing activity in areas of the brain

4

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology associated with memory. The age difference in the increased priority of attentional resources on neural activity can explain why older adults are threatening stimuli is evolutionarily beneficial. better at regulating emotions and worse at Social Belongingness remembering negative stimuli. A desire to be socially accepted can be The diminished effect of the negativity evolutionarily beneficial. If a person is able to bias seen in older adults may be emotionally form more lasting emotional bonds with others, adaptive, just as a negativity bias in younger they are more likely to secure a mate, obtain individuals may also be adaptive as they are communal resources, and receive assistance developing the knowledge required for survival when threats are present (Baumeister and Leary, and threat avoidance. The ability to attend to and 1995). An individual’s responses to another respond to threat may become more automatic person’s affective state can impact how they are with practice and therefore there is less of a need viewed by others. For example, if you were to for the negativity bias. Balthazar et al. (2012) insult someone who was already distressed, that explored whether children have a better memory person and the people around you will not want for threatening social interactions. They showed to accept you into their social group. In contrast, young children pictures of people described as if you were to comfort that person, others would mean or nice; nice individuals were described as be more likely to include you and offer doing something helpful while mean individuals resources to you (Rofe, 1985). were described as behaving in a threatening Not only can a negativity bias in manner. Their results indicated that children are attention and memory improve a person’s more likely to remember the faces of threatening physical survivability, it can also improve their individuals and the specific details of their likelihood of achieving social acceptance. threatening actions. Children may have a more Having a better memory for negative events can significant tendency toward the negativity bias influence an individual’s relationship to others as they are still acquiring knowledge that will be and their perception of their social environment. useful for detecting threats. This could explain Attending to the negative expressions and why the negativity bias in attention is more actions of others can alter how they act in prominent in children than older adults as this response to negative facial expressions in order bias can be important in shaping their capacity to improve the situation. By responding to the to detect and respond to unexpected threatening negative emotions of others, individuals are able stimuli. This ability becomes more automatic, to develop more positive relationships and requiring less attentional resources and increase their of belongingness within awareness as people age. their social environment (Baumeister & Leary, The way in which one processes and 1995). remembers past events can shape how Social belongingness refers to the extent they respond to events in the future. With regard to which a person feels that they are to negative emotional events, this means that accepted by other individuals and the quality and they have a memory of how a potentially depth of their interpersonal relationships. dangerous negative event was dealt with and Proponents of the belongingness hypothesis what actions either helped or not. Being able to argue that in social situations, human beings act recall beneficial actions or avoid other actions in response to a fundamental need for will shape how an individual respond to similar belongingness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). In events in the future. Therefore, it is the absence of social acceptance, an individual advantageous to have a better memory for how may face many emotional consequences. When negative events are handled, as a memory for a person experiences a perceived sense of social how neutral or positive emotional events were exclusion corresponds to increased of dealt with is less likely to have the same impact , , social and on survivability. Additionally, the amount of (Leary, 1990). Thus it is important for attention paid to a threatening stimulus improves an individual to obtain a sense of belongingness the likelihood that it will be remembered. Thus, in order to thrive socially.

5

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology

An individual’s response to someone’s participants recall the feedback they received. negative emotions can have an impact on the Their results showed that participants spent way others view them. Responding in an more time focusing on negative feedback and appropriate and supportive way to an less time focusing on positive feedback. They individual’s negative emotions can deepen the also found that participants were able to recall quality of their interpersonal relationships. If more specific details about negative feedback someone were sad, then we could strengthen our than specific details about positive feedback. relationship with them by comforting them and Participants were likely able to remember more if someone’s negative emotion was rage, we details about negative feedback because they could recognize this and know to avoid them so spent more time attending to negative feedback. that we do not damage the relationship with It makes sense that we would attend to them. Thus, people may be more likely to and remember negative feedback more than recognize the emotions of others in order to positive feedback as negative feedback is more respond to them when the emotion is negative as constructive on shaping how we opposed to when it is positive or neutral. go about tasks or activities in the future. For The negativity bias for emotional stimuli example, if I was walking down the street and is particularly salient with facial stimuli. one person compliments my shirt and another Lagattuta and Hansen (2017), explored whether person insults my shirt because they feel that the children and/or adults prioritize attending to style is not flattering, I would be more inclined negative faces. In their experiment, participants to view the shirt as unflattering and might chose were asked in the first task to look at the faces not to wear it in the future. When something on a screen; on the screen were multiple faces about a person or something they do is not well- expressing either positive, negative, or neutral received, they are more inclined to change their emotions. In the second task, participants were behavior as people tend to prefer to be viewed instructed to focus on the happy face. During positively by others in order to obtain a sense of each of the tasks, they used eye-tracking to belongingness in within their community. monitor which faces participants were attending Therefore, the memory of that negative feedback to. They found that both adults and children are is more detailed than memories of positive most likely to attend to faces expressing feedback as it can negative emotion first. Both adults and children impact how people view themselves in relation are more likely to first attend to emotional faces to their social environment along with their before neutral faces. These results suggest that sense of social inclusion. people are more attentive to the negative The desire for social inclusion can emotions of others. This additional focus and explain why we are more likely to attend to and prioritization of negative facial stimuli increases therefore remember negative events. We are the likelihood that people will have a better more likely to attend to the faces of others if memory for the negative emotions of others. they are expressing negative emotions. If we see Much of the tendency to focus on the someone in distress we can improve our negative emotions of others may be attributed to interpersonal relationship with them by an innate desire to please others. People are comforting them and if they are angry we can motivated by the experience of being liked and avoid damaging our interpersonal relationship they find it rewarding to be socially included with them by avoiding them. Much of our (Davey et al., 2010). The idea of disappointing attention is driven towards emotional stimuli as or being viewed negatively by someone else is our response to these stimuli can shape our notably unpleasant. For this reason, Huang et al., feelings of belongingness in a social (2017) investigated the relationship between environment. This is why people are more attention, memory, and negative vs. positive attentive to negative feedback in comparison feedback. They used eye-tracking technology to with positive feedback, as we strive to be liked measure how long people looked at positive and by others. negative feedback, when feedback was provided Positive is Common for task performance. Additionally, they had

6

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology

An individual’s increased ability to memory of an experience is strengthened by the recall specific details of negative social events distinctiveness of the event in relation to may be associated with the theory that positive everyday experiences. As negative experiences social interactions may tend to be much more are distinct from everyday events, they capture commonplace than negative social interactions our attention and are more likely to be (Graf et al., 2014). Negative social interactions remembered. and negative stimuli are infrequent in the lives Conclusion of most people, because of this, they are able to Human beings are more likely to attract our attention and stand out when people remember the specific details of negative events experience them. An example of this is Graf et from their past and hold less detailed memories al.’s (2014) study of the relationship between for positive and neutral events. This negativity intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes in bias in memory can be attributed to an relation to the frequency of positive and negative attentional preference for negative stimuli. interactions. They administered a questionnaire When stimuli are attended to, they are more to individuals of various nationalities in Central likely to be encoded and stored in long-term Europe asking about their interactions with memory. The emotional processing mechanism people from other countries. They found that of an event differs depending on the valence of participants reported positive intergroup environmental stimuli. When we have interactions as occurring three times more than experienced negative events, we are more likely negative intergroup interactions. Additionally, to remember specific, local details of the event. they found that the less frequent negative Additionally, the activity levels in various brain interactions were more instrumental in shaping regions vary based on the valence of an outgroup attitudes. These results indicate that observed stimulus. Negative stimuli are attended although positive interactions are more to a greater extent than positive or neutral commonplace, it is negative interactions that are stimuli during encoding, thus our memory for more likely to alter how an individual may them can be more detailed. This is evolutionarily perceive their environment and act based on that beneficial as being able to retrieve and attend to perception. specific details of a threatening situation can Individuals are better at remembering allow us to better respond to and avoid them in stimuli that are distinct. Over time we are more the future. likely to remember events that are unusual rather How we respond to negative emotional than events that occur frequently in our daily situations can determine the level of social lives. Schacter et al. (1998) explored whether acceptance a person receives. An appropriate memory accuracy was improved or hindered by response to the negative emotions of others can the similarity of stimuli and if the effect could be facilitate a deeper connection in social altered by encoding similar stimuli through relationships. Furthermore, negative emotional distinct features. They instructed participants to stimuli tend to be less commonplace, making familiarize themselves with a of either word their presence distinct, allowing them to stand or picture stimuli. After a delay, they asked out amongst other memories. Future research participants to state whether they were exposed should address the connection between the to a word or picture using a list of stimuli that negativity bias in attention and memory and an combined those which they were originally individual's of life events, in shown along with a set of lure stimuli that were addition to ways to overcome this negativity bias either related or unrelated to the original set. when it may not be beneficial. They found that participants were more likely to The negativity biases in attention and falsely recognize a lure stimulus if it was memory are particularly important to understand semantically related to stimuli they had as people are being more frequently exposed to previously been exposed to than lure stimulus negative events through television and social that was distinct from the original stimuli. media. When major negative events, such as Therefore, the distinctiveness of a stimuli can terrorist attacks, occur, images of the event and improve the accuracy of recall and therefore the aftermath are scattered throughout media. Many

7

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology people find themselves repetitively exposed to Craik, F. I. M., Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M., & negative events, such as the videos of planes Anderson, N. D. (1996). The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval crashing into the world trade center during the processes in human memory. 9/11 attacks or the audio recordings of the 911 Journal of : General, emergency calls from the Columbine High 125, 159 –180 School Massacre, increasing the of their Davey, C. G., Allen, N. B., Harrison, B. J., Dwyer, D. B., memory for the event. The repeated exposure to & Yücel, M. (2010). Being liked activates primary reward and midline -related these images can create a sense of an impending brain regions. threat, resulting in behavioral changes, as seen in Mapping, 31(4), 660-668. the integration of lockdown drills in schools Graf, S., Paolini, S., & Rubin, M. (2014). Negative following the Newtown Shooting (Trevelyan, intergroup contact is more influential, but positive intergroup contact is more common: 2014). Assessing contact prominence Many people actively choose to expose and contact prevalence in five Central European themselves to negative images, they share posts countries. European Journal Of about negative events with their social media , 44(6), 536-547. followers or choose to watch documentaries Hansen, C. H., & Hansen, R. D. (1988). Finding the face in the crowd: An about serial killers or natural disasters. The superiority effect. Journal of Personality and negativity bias in attention can explain why Social Psychology, 54, 917–924. people struggle to avoid looking at negative Huang, P., Liu, C., & Chen, H. (2017). The influence of stimuli such as car accidents despite the Outcome Status on the attending and memory of positive and negative unpleasant emotions they elicit. Future research feedback. Bulletin Of should address the effect of the increase in , 48, 469-486. exposure to negative events, how knowledge of Lagattuta, K. H., & Kramer, H. J. (2017). Try to look on the mechanisms behind the negativity bias in the bright side: Children and attention and memory can be used to counter the adults can (sometimes) override their tendency to prioritize negative faces. effects of repeated exposure to negative stimuli, Journal Of Experimental Psychology, 146, 89- and whether there is a difference in this 101. negativity bias in individuals who choose to Lavie, N. (1995) Perceptual Load as a Necessary Condition experience negate events. for Selective Attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21, References 451–468. Anderson, J. R. (1990). and its Leary, M. R. (1990). Responses to social exclusion: Social implications (3rd ed.). New York: anxiety, jealousy, loneliness, W.H. Freeman. depression, and low self-esteem. Journal Of Arndt, J., & Hirshman, E. (1998). True and false Social And Clinical Psychology, recognition in MINERVA2: 9(2), 221-229. Explanations from a global matching Mickley, K. R., & Kensinger, E. A. (2008). Emotional perspective.Journal of Memory & valence influences the neural ,39, 371–391. correlates associated with remembering and Baltazar, N. C., Shutts, K., & Kinzler, K. D. (2012). knowing. Cognitive, Affective & Children show heightened memory Behavioral , 8(2), 143-152. for threatening social actions. Journal Of Pessoa, L., Kastner, S., & Underleider, L. G. (2002). Experimental Child Psychology, 112, of the 102-110. processing of neutral and emotional stimuli. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to Cognitive Brain Research, 15, belong: Desire for interpersonal 31-45. attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Pessoa, L., McKenna, M., Gutierrez, E., & Ungerleider, L. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), G. (2002). Neural processing 497-529. of emotional faces requires attention. Boals, A., Hayslip, B. J., & Banks, J. B. (2014). Age Proceedings of the National Academy of differences in autobiographical Sciences of the United States of America, 99(17), memories of negative events. The International 11458–11463. Journal Of Aging & Human Phelps, E. A. (2006). Emotion and : Insights from Development, 78, 47-65. studies of the human

8

Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology

amygdala. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 27- 53. Phelps, E. A., & LeDoux, J. E. (2005). Contributions of the amygdala to emotion processing: From animal models to human behavior. , 48, 175-187. Ritchie, T. D., Sedikides, C., & Skowronski, J. J. (2017). Does a person selectively recall the good or the bad from their personal past? It depends on the recall target and the person’s favourability of self- views. Memory, 25(8), 934-944. Rofe, Y. (1984). Stress and affiliation: A utility theory. Psychological Review, 91, 235-250. Schacter, D. L., Israel, L., & Racine, C. A. (1999). Suppressing false recognition in younger and older adults: The distinctiveness heuristic. Journal of Memory & Language,40, 1–24. Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human : II. Perceptual , automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84, 127-190. St. Jacques, P. L., Dolcos, F., & Cabeza, R. (2009). Effects of aging on functional connectivity of the amygdala for subsequent memory of negative pictures: A network analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Psychological Science, 20(1), 74-84. Trevelyan, Laura. “US Children Learn 'Lockdown Drill'.” BBC News, BBC, 9 Feb. 2014, Retrieved from www.bbc.com/news/magazine- 26085368. Vuilleumier, P., Armony, J., Driver, J., & Dolan, R. (2001). Effects of attention and emotion on face processing in the human brain: An event-related fMRI study. Neuron, 30(3), 829-841.

9