The "good is up" metaphoric effects on recognition: True for source guessing but false for item memory.

The "good is up" metaphor, which links valence and verticality was found to influence affective judgement and to direct attention, but its effects on memory remain unclear with contradictory research findings. To provide a more accurate assessment of memory components involved in recognition, such as item memory and source-guessing biases, a standard source monitoring paradigm was applied in this research. A series of three experiments provided a conceptual replication and extension of Experiment 2 by Crawford et al., (2014) and yielded a consistent result pattern suggesting that the "good is up" metaphor biases participants' guessing of source location. That is, when source memory failed, participants were more inclined to guess the "up" location versus "down" location for positive items (and vice versa for negative items). It did, however, not affect source memory or item memory for valenced stimuli learned from metaphor-congruent versus incongruent locations (i.e., no metaphor-(in)congruent effects in memory). We suggest that the "good is up" metaphor may affect cognitive processes in a more subtle way than originally suggested.

Enhanced source memory for emotionally valenced sources: does an affective orienting task make the difference?

Previous research on whether source memory is enhanced for emotionally valenced sources yielded inconclusive results. To identify potential boundary conditions, we tested whether encoding instructions that promote affective versus different types of non-affective item-source-processing foster versus hamper source-valence effects. In both experiments, we used neutral words as items superimposed on emotional (positive & negative) or neutral pictures as sources. Source pictures were selected based on valence and arousal ratings collected in a pre-study such that only valence varied across sources. Source memory was measured via multinomial modelling. In Experiment 1, we applied an affective, item-focused orienting task (OT; i.e. word-pleasantness ratings) during item-source encoding and found enhanced source memory for emotionally valenced (positive & negative) compared to neutral sources. In Experiment 2, we systematically manipulated encoding instructions and again found enhanced source memory for emotionally valenced sources with an affective OT. No such effects occurred in the non-affective conditions, where participants were instructed to integrate item and source (item-source-fit judgments), to focus on the item (living-non-living judgments), or to encode the items only, respectively. With intentional item encoding, however, source memory was surprisingly better for positive than negative sources. We conclude that source-valence effects might unfold only under affective processing.

Is there an emotionality effect in older adults' source memory?

The goal of our research was to investigate whether older adults show a source memory enhancement for emotionally valenced sources. Additionally, building on research on the socioemotional selectivity theory and the age-related positivity effect, we tested whether older adults show a larger enhancement for positive compared to negative (and neutral) sources than younger adults. In Experiment 1 (nold = 25, nyoung = 27), we used one positive, one negative, and one neutral picture to manipulate source valence (many-to-one mapping of items to sources), whereas, in Experiment 2 (nold = 62, nyoung = 62), we used multiple pictures per source valence category (one-to-one mapping of items to sources) to counteract potential habituation effects. In both experiments, sources had medium and matching arousal levels. Items were neutral words superimposed on the source pictures. To support an implicit, natural information processing, participants rated the words in terms of pleasantness. We analyzed memory data with a multinomial processing tree model to disentangle memory processes from guessing bias. Across both experiments, an age-related positivity effect occurred in participants' pleasantness ratings. This effect, however, did not carry over to older adults' source memory. That is, in source memory, we found a general emotionality effect for younger but not for older adults and no age-related positivity effect. We propose that due to older adults' pronounced difficulties in remembering the item-to-source link (i.e., associative deficit), even a greater focus on an inherently emotional source might be insufficient to boost source memory.

In Colore Veritas? Color effects on the speed and accuracy of true/false responses.

In addition to their perceptual or aesthetic function, colors often carry conceptual meaning. In quizzes, for instance, true and false answers are typically marked in green and red. In three experiments, we used a Stroop task to investigate automatic green-true associations and red-false associations, respectively. In Experiments 1 and 2, stimuli were true statements (e.g., "tables are furniture") and false statements (e.g., "bananas are buildings") that were displayed in different combination of green, red, and gray depending on the experimental condition. In Experiment 3, we used true-related and false-related words shown in green, red, or gray. Participants had to indicate the validity (or semantic meaning) of each statement (or word) as fast and as accurately as possible. We expected that participants would perform best when they had to categorize green stimuli as "true" and red stimuli as "false". The prediction was only confirmed when green and red stimuli were presented within the same context (i.e., same experimental condition). This finding supports the dimension-specificity hypothesis which states that cross-modal associations (here: associations between color and validity) depend on the context (here: the color-context). Moreover, the observed color-validity effects were stronger when participants had to categorize single words instead of sentences and when they had to provide speeded responses. Taken together, these results suggest that controlled processing counteracts the influence of automatic color associations on true/false responses.

Better memory for emotional sources? A systematic evaluation of source valence and arousal in source memory.

Emotion-enhanced memory (EEM) describes the robust memory advantage of emotional over non-emotional stimuli. While extensively investigated with emotional items, it is unclear whether the EEM effect extends to source memory for a neutral item's emotional context. In two pre-registered studies, we systematically manipulated source valence (positive, negative) between participants and source arousal (high, low, neutral-low) within participants. In Experiment 1 (lab study, N = 80), we used emotional sound sources and presented them together with neutral pictures as items. In Experiment 2 (online study, N = 172), we used emotional background pictures with superimposed neutral item words to similarly manipulate source emotionality. Multinomial model-based analysis showed no general effects of valence or arousal on source memory across both experiments. Source memory was impaired for the negative high-arousing source in Experiment 1 but this did not replicate in Experiment 2. Altogether, we conclude that there are no memory-enhancing effects of source emotionality (valence, arousal, or any specific combination thereof) on source memory, dissociating emotionality effects between source and item memory. Additionally, we propose that material-dependent influences carry more weight if the used emotional material is limited in number, as is the case in the standard source-monitoring paradigm employing few sources only.

A novel paradigm to assess storage of sources in memory: the source recognition test with reinstatement.

The present research aimed to devise a test of source recognition that facilitates access to source information stored in memory. Therefore, we extended the standard source-monitoring paradigm, in which items are presented in a source-neutral manner during test, by a second, subsequent test with source reinstatement. In this second test, items (i.e., words) were presented with both study sources (i.e., two speakers) consecutively such that for originally studied words, one test presentation was the exact reinstatement of the original source. To validate our assumption that the test with reinstatement primarily assesses source storage, we manipulated source storage by varying encoding frequency between-participants (repetition vs. no repetition of each item-source-pair). Additionally, we varied source similarity between-participants (similar vs. dissimilar speakers). Data analyses (N = 146) based on multinomial and signal detection models showed a source memory enhancement in the second test with reinstatement compared to the first standard test, especially for similar sources. Additionally, repetition selectively benefited source memory in the second test, validating our interpretation of the second test as a measure for source storage. Altogether, our novel source recognition test offers a promising method for investigating various well-known source memory phenomena more comprehensively.