Sayar Filiz
Yalova University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Yalova, Türkiye.
Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2024 Nov 28;61(4):363-369. doi: 10.29399/npa.28724. eCollection 2024.
Research shows that stimuli rated for their relevance to a survival scenario have a higher recall probability when compared to other deep encoding conditions. This phenomenon, known as survival memory advantage, is a robust finding that has been demonstrated by various experimental manipulations. The current study aimed to examine associations between participants' psychological markers (perceived stress, anxiety, coping, cognitive control, and flexibility) and their memory performance in survival and other encoding conditions (fight, flight, and pleasantness).
A total of 141 undergraduates aged 18-35 years participated voluntarily in the study. Four scenario situations (fight, flight, survival, or pleasantness) were randomly allocated to participants, and then they were given a list of words to rate for their relevance to the scenarios. Participants were given a free recall task to measure their memory, while some psychological scales (perceived stress, anxiety level, coping strategies, cognitive control, and flexibility) were administered to assess their psychological markers.
Survival conditions yielded the highest correct recall. Pairwise comparisons showed that difference between survival and pleasant conditions was significant (p<0.05). The other conditions did not differ significantly from one another. Regression analyses revealed that anxiety level may explain 13% of variance in survival condition and 14% of variance in fight condition. No significant effect was found on flight conditions.
Recall performance did not significantly differ between survival, fight, and flight conditions. However, anxiety level in survival conditions and support seeking in fight condition were found to be negative predictors of recollection. According to these results, associations between concepts of anxiety and survival, and between support seeking and fight (struggle) in human mind determine memory processes at a significant level. Individuals' psychological characteristics and coping strategies have different effects on recall depending on the context.
研究表明，与其他深度编码条件相比，被评定为与生存场景相关的刺激具有更高的回忆概率。这种现象被称为生存记忆优势，是一个通过各种实验操作得到证实的有力发现。本研究旨在考察参与者的心理指标（感知压力、焦虑、应对方式、认知控制和灵活性）与他们在生存及其他编码条件（战斗、逃跑和愉悦）下的记忆表现之间的关联。
共有141名年龄在18至35岁之间的本科生自愿参与本研究。四种场景情况（战斗、逃跑、生存或愉悦）被随机分配给参与者，然后给他们一份单词列表，让他们评定这些单词与场景的相关性。参与者接受自由回忆任务以测量他们的记忆，同时使用一些心理量表（感知压力、焦虑水平、应对策略、认知控制和灵活性）来评估他们的心理指标。
生存条件下的正确回忆率最高。两两比较显示，生存条件和愉悦条件之间的差异显著（p<0.05）。其他条件之间没有显著差异。回归分析表明，焦虑水平可能解释生存条件下13%的方差和战斗条件下14%的方差。在逃跑条件下未发现显著影响。
生存、战斗和逃跑条件下的回忆表现没有显著差异。然而，发现生存条件下的焦虑水平和战斗条件下的寻求支持是回忆的负向预测因素。根据这些结果，焦虑与生存概念之间以及寻求支持与战斗（挣扎）在人类思维中的关联在很大程度上决定了记忆过程。个体的心理特征和应对策略根据情境对回忆有不同的影响。
