Abstract
M.A. (Psychology)
Memory and emotion are two constructs which have received significant attention in the field of psychology. Another area of focus which has become popular in the psychological literature is gender differences. Together, these three constructs have also been investigated in various ways. However, there seems to be little research that has focused specifically on the possible gender differences in the recall of neutral, positive and negative material.
The link between memory and emotion has been demonstrated in a variety of previous research studies. These studies indicate that memory performance is enhanced for emotive material. Gender differences have been noted in the psychological literature in terms of language abilities, emotional functioning, memory, cognitive processing style and neuropsychology. From past research it was unclear as to whether gender differences would be present in the recall of neutral and emotionally arousing words.
This study involved 71 students from the University of Johannesburg. A word list was developed from a database of words rated in terms of valence and arousal, which was used to test the recall of neutral, positive and negative emotive words for each participant. Non-parametric statistical techniques were used to analyse the data.
The results of the study indicated statistically significant differences between male and female participants in the recall of neutral words and the total recall of words. In particular, females recalled significantly more neutral words than males, and the same result was found with regards to the total number of words recalled. There were no statistically significant differences found between male and female participants in the recall of positive and negative emotive words.
Numerous explanations can account for these findings. These include the theory of desensitization, which involves a decreased response to emotionally arousing material due to continuous exposure to aversive stimuli over time. Another explanation focuses on the differences between the biological sex of participants and
their sex-related traits of masculinity or femininity. Finally, the words chosen for the word list may not have had the desired effect on the participants.
It is recommended that future studies develop a database of words which are rated in terms of valence and arousal by a sample in the population of interest. In addition, the language proficiency of the participants should also be determined.