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Open Access 01-12-2016 | Original Article

Practicing Emotionally Biased Retrieval Affects Mood and Establishes Biased Recall a Week Later

Authors: Janna N. Vrijsen, Paula T. Hertel, Eni S. Becker

Published in: Cognitive Therapy and Research | Issue 6/2016

Abstract

Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) can yield clinically relevant results. Only few studies have directly manipulated memory bias, which is prominent in depression. In a new approach to CBM, we sought to simulate or oppose ruminative processes by training the retrieval of negative or positive words. Participants studied positive and negative word pairs (Swahili cues with Dutch translations). In the positive and negative conditions, each of the three study trials was followed by a cued-recall test of training-congruent translations; a no-practice condition merely studied the pairs. Recall of the translations was tested after the training and after 1 week. Both recall tests revealed evidence of training-congruent bias and bias was associated with emotional autobiographical memory. Positive retrieval practice yielded stable positive mood, in contrast to the other conditions. The results indicate that memory bias can be established through retrieval practice and that the bias transfers to mood and autobiographical memory.

An additional 10 Swahili words with Dutch translations were selected (5 with emotionally negative meanings and 5 with positive) with valence ratings comparable to the studied words (M _negative = 3.1, SD = 0.28; M _positive = 13.0, SD = 0.20). Only the main effect of valence was significant, F(1, 90) = 9.64, MSE = 72.26, p = .003, η _p ² = .10; 10.2 % of the new cues produced positive responses (SD = 13.3) and 6.3 % produced negative responses (SD = 12.0). Retrieval practice did not reliably affect this generally positive bias, p = .13. Responses to the new cues were often correct translations of orthographically similar studied words. The positive bias might therefore represent only greater orthographic similarity between the new cues and the positive studied cues, compared to the similarity with negative studied cues.

At the end of the study, we asked three questions to assess participants’ awareness of the study aim: What do you think this study was about? What do you think we aimed to measure? Did you notice anything in yourself during the study (a feeling, a learning strategy, etc.)? Of the n = 57 who provided a serious answer to the awareness check (some just filled a question mark or random answer), 82.5 % of participants guessed that the study had something to do with mood and learning. Of those participants, 42.4 % thought it was about the association between learning positive and negative words and mood. Several participants thought it was about long-term versus short-term memory, no doubt due to the long interval between sessions. No one mentioned anything concerning a manipulation of learning strategies. Moreover, none of the participants reported that training influenced their autobiographical recall.

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Title: Practicing Emotionally Biased Retrieval Affects Mood and Establishes Biased Recall a Week Later
Authors: Janna N. Vrijsen
Paula T. Hertel
Eni S. Becker
Publication date: 01-12-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Cognitive Therapy and Research / Issue 6/2016
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9789-6

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