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The speed of recall of pleasant and unpleasant experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

W. A. Lishman
W. A. Lishman
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London S.E.5.
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Sysnopsis

A method is described for comparing the speed of recall of pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Pleasant experiences have proved to be recalled significantly more quickly than unpleasant experiences in healthy volunteer subjects, and especially in those scoring low on neuroticism or high on extraversion as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The overall pleasant/unpleasant differential was found to persist on re-testing some months later with an alternative form of the test. The technique appears to be a valid and simple means for exploring hedonic selectivity in memory.

Type
Preliminary communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , May 1974 , pp. 212 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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References

REFERENCES

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