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The influence of emotional coloring of images on visual working memory in adults and adolescents

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Abstract

The influence of emotional valence (positive, negative or neutral) of realistic images on the functioning of visual working memory (WM) was studied in adults (n = 40) and adolescents (n = 17). In adults, emotional coloring of stimuli increased the reaction time and decreased the accuracy of WM task performance. This effect was more pronounced for negative than for positive valence: the minimal reaction time was observed for the neutral stimuli, the maximal for the negative emotional stimuli, and significant differences in the reaction time were found between all three types of images. The accuracy was lower for negative stimuli than for either positive or neutral stimuli. Compared with adults, adolescents of age 14–16 showed lower indices of the performance accuracy and rate with neutral and positive stimuli in the WM task. In this group, no significant influence of the emotional valence of visual stimuli on the accuracy of WM task performance was found.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Cognitive Processes, Institute of Developmental Physiology, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia

    R. I. Rozovskaya & R. I. Machinskaya

  2. Federal Center of Treatment and Rehabilitation, Moscow, Russia

    R. I. Rozovskaya & E. V. Pechenkova

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  1. R. I. Rozovskaya
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  2. R. I. Machinskaya
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  3. E. V. Pechenkova
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Correspondence to R. I. Rozovskaya.

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Original Russian Text © R.I. Rozovskaya, R.I. Machinskaya, E.V. Pechenkova, 2016, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2016, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 82–93.

The article was translated by the authors.

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Rozovskaya, R.I., Machinskaya, R.I. & Pechenkova, E.V. The influence of emotional coloring of images on visual working memory in adults and adolescents. Hum Physiol 42, 69–78 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119716010138

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