Memory for Cultural Information about Russia and the United States

Abstract

This study examines the processing of information about culture by Russians and Americans. The participants were induced into either a positive or a negative mood; read identical favorable, unfavorable, and neutral information about Russia or the United States; and completed a recognition task containing both statements they had read and statements they had not read. There was evidence of a bias toward greater recognition of unfavorable cultural information, particularly for Americans. In addition, Russians and Americans recognized different types of information, with Americans more likely to accurately recognize information that had been presented, and Russians somewhat more likely to recognize information that had not actually been presented. Finally, for anxiety a mood-incongruent effect was found for favorable cultural information. Implications of these findings for cross-cultural interactions and research needed to understand the effects of anxiety on memory are discussed.