In my original review (Kensinger, 2009), I proposed that to understand the effects of emotion on memory accuracy, we must look beyond effects of arousal and consider the contribution of valence. In discussing this proposal, the commentators raise a number of excellent points that hone in on the question of when valence does (and does not) account for emotion's effects on memory accuracy. Though future research will be required to resolve this issue more fully, in this brief response, I address some of the concerns outlined by the commentators and suggest a few steps that may help to elucidate the dimensions that should be incorporated in models of emotional memory.
Anderson, A.K., Wais, P.E., & Gabrieli, J.D.E. (2006). Emotion enhances remembrance of neutral events past. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 1599-1604.
2.
Berntson, G.G., Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Cacioppo, J.T. (2007). Amygdala contribution to selective dimensions of emotion. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2, 123-129.
3.
Buchanan, T.W., Etzel, J.A., Adolphs, R., & Tranel, D. (2006). The influence of autonomic arousal and semantic relatedness on memory for emotional words. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 61, 26-33.
4.
Gutchess, A.H., Kensinger, E.A., Yoon, C., & Schacter, D.L. (2007). Ageing and the self-reference effect in memory. Memory, 15, 822-837.
5.
Hamann, S. (2009). Towards understanding emotion's effects on memory . Emotion Review, 1(2), 114-115.
6.
Kelley, W.M., Macrae, C.N., Wyland, C.L., Caglar, S., Inati, S., & Heatherton, T.F. (2002). Finding the self? An event-related fMRI study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 785-794.
7.
Kensinger, E.A. (2009). Remembering the details: Effects of emotion. Emotion Review, 1(2), 99-113.
8.
Kensinger, E.A., Garoff-Eaton, R.J., & Schacter, D.L. (2007). Effects of emotion on memory specificity in young and older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 62, 208-215.
9.
Kensinger, E.A., O'Brien, J., Swanberg, K., Garoff-Eaton, R.J., & Schacter, D.L. (2007). The effects of emotional content on reality-monitoring performance in young and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 22, 752-764.
10.
Lang, P.J., Bradley, M.M., & Cuthbert, B.N. (1997). International affective picture system (IAPS): Technical manual and affective ratings [CD ROM]. NIMH Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida.
11.
Larson, C., & Steuer, E. (2009). Motivational relevance as a potential modulator of memory for affective stimuli: Can we compare snakes and cakes?Emotion Review, 1(2), 116-117.
12.
Mather, M., & Sutherland, M. (2009). Disentangling the effects of arousal and valence on memory for intrinsic details. Emotion Review, 1(2), 118-119.
13.
Mickley, K.R., & Kensinger, E.A. (2008). The effects of valence and arousal on the neural activity leading to subsequent memory. Manuscript submitted for publication.
14.
Moran, J.M., Macrae, C.N., Heatherton, T.F., Wyland, C.L., & Kelley, W.M. (2006). Neuroanatomical evidence for distinct cognitive and affective components of self. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience , 18, 1586-1594.
15.
Murnen, S.K., & Stockton, M. (1997). Gender and self-reported sexual arousal in response to sexual stimuli: A meta-analytic review. Sex Roles, 37, 135-153.
16.
Talmi, D., & Moscovitch, M. (2004). Can semantic relatedness explain the enhancement of memory for emotional words? Memory and Cognition, 32, 742-751.
17.
Tsai, J.L., Levenson, R.W., & Carstensen, L.L. (2000). Autonomic, subjective, and expressive responses to emotional films in older and younger Chinese Americans andEuropean Americans. Psychology and Aging, 15, 684-693.
18.
Turk, D.J., Cunningham, S.J., & Macrae, C.N. (2008). Self-memory biases in explicit and incidental encoding of trait adjectives. Consciousness and Cognition , 17, 1040-1045.
19.
Wittmann, B.C., Bunzeck, N., Dolan, R.J., & Duzel, E. (2007). Anticipation of novelty recruits reward system and hippocampus while promoting recollection. Neuroimage, 38, 194-202.
