A Novel Approach to Investigating the Effect of Anxiety on Working Memory Recall using an Adapted Brown-Peterson Task

Abstract

A1 Background Working memory may provide a means of holding information in mind that reduces susceptibility to distraction. In contrast anxiety might make individuals’ more prone to memory intrusions, particularly those with an emotional content. A2 Objectives and Research questions This project explores whether any such protection depends on individuals’ working memory capacity, levels of anxiety, and the nature of distractors that might intrude into memory. A3 Participants At least fifty adult participants will be assessed. A4 Study method Participants will complete a version of a working memory task in which a pre-load of words is followed by a period of distraction, and then a recall test. The amount of information to be remembered will be varied across trials. Distractors will vary in whether they are negatively valenced or not, and attended to or not. Participants’ short-term memory capacity and state and trait levels of anxiety will also be measured.