Reducing the negative valence of stressful memories through emotionally valenced, modality-specific tasks

- Subjects saw a stressful film, and recalled it when exposed to a secondary task.
- The task was exposure to an audio, video, or audiovideo film clip.
- The positive clip, relative to the neutral one, reduced emotionality of the memory.
- Efficacy did not differ as a function of modality (e.g., audio, video).

Background and objectivesPeople who perform a cognitively demanding secondary task while recalling a distressing memory often experience the memory as less emotional, vivid, or accurate during subsequent recollections. In this experiment, we tested whether the emotional valence (positive versus neutral) and sensory modality (visual, auditory, or both) of a secondary task diminishes the emotionality, vividness, and accuracy of memory of distressing videos.MethodsParticipants (N = 156) viewed a distressing video and were then randomized to one of six groups in a 2 (Emotional Valence: positive, neutral) × 3 (Modality: visual, auditory, combined) design. Participants were then exposed to an amusing or a neutral clip that was visual, auditory, or audiovisual. They were asked to recall the distressing video during exposure to the clip. Participants rated the emotionality and vividness of their memory of the distressing video, and completed recognition tests regarding its visual and auditory details before and after exposure to the secondary clip.ResultsParticipants who recalled the distressing video while exposed to the amusing clip rated their memory of the distressing video as less distressing (but not less vivid or accurate) than did participants exposed to the neutral clip. Modality had no significant effects Limitations. Participants were not trauma survivors, and the memories targeted were stressful, but subtraumatic.ConclusionsInducing positive emotion during recollection of distressing memories may diminish the emotional distress prompted by subsequent recollection.