Examining the Physiological Interplay of Memory Formation and Distractive Stimuli
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Date
2018Author
Anderson, Sally
Blaser, Morgan
Bradshaw, Rachel
Jondal, Kathryn
Rehman, Shujah
Publisher
Journal of Advanced Student Sciences (JASS)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Distractive stimuli divert students’ attention and disrupts the memory formation process.
Stress, as measured by physiological changes including rise in blood pressure, heart rate and
skin conductance, also affect the formation of memories.This research aimed to investigate the
human physiological response to distractive auditory stimuli along with the ability to recall
material learned in the context of distractive auditory stimuli. Blood pressure, heart rate, and
skin conductance were measured for 26 participants. Subjects underwent a 30 second
memorization phase, followed by a 3 minute sorting task, and a 1 minute phase to recall the list
of 7 words given in the beginning of the experiment. An experimental group listened to the
iPhone ringtone “The Opening” during the memorization phase while the control group
performed their task in silence. The results indicate that the distracted group recalled on
average 20.2% less words than the undistracted group. However, statistical analysis indicates
no significant difference between the physiological responses of participants in the distracted
group versus the undistracted group
Subject
Heart Rate
memory
Blood Pressure
Cognitive Recall
Distractions
ElectroDermal Activity (EDA)
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/81976Description
An article that appeared in JASS, issue 2018