Short- and Long-Term Memory as a Function of Individual Differences in Arousal

Abstract

In a paired-associate learning experiment employing 40 university students as Ss, the contribution of individual differences in arousal to short-and long-term retention was investigated using individual differences in salivary response to lemon juice stimulation as an index of arousal. Experimental Ss were pre-selected from 99 Ss on the basis of extreme arousal scores. The hypotheses were confirmed; low-arousal recall is greater than high-arousal recall on a test of short-term retention ( p < .08) and high-arousal recall is greater than low-arousal recall on a test of long-term retention ( p < .04).