A Study on Individual Differences in Emotional Memory Regarding the Processing Sensitivity of Sesnsory Stimuli

Emotion could facilitate memory encoding and consolidation processes. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate emotional memory based on high and low sensory processing sensitivity.
For this purpose, first, 500 students in Bu Ali Sina University in Hamadan's were selected through a multistage cluster sampling. After the initial data analysis, 45 students were selected based on final score distribution (Z Standard) in Sensory Processing Sensitivity Scale. Then, to test the hypothesis of this study, the participants were studied for evaluating their emotional memory. In the first phase, some emotional images were displayed to participants, and in the second stage with a 15-day time interval, the recognition rate for the first stage of emotional images was evaluated. To evaluate the results of the study, collected data were analyzed by using MANCOVA, univariate covariance and post hoc tests.
The results showed significant differences in emotional memory between three groups based on sensory processing sensitivity: Participants with high sensory processing sensitivity (HSP) in the first stage of emotional memory retrieval gained higher in most components of emotional memory compared with individuals with low sensory processing sensitivity (LSP). However, in the second stage of emotional memory retrieval, people with low sensory processing sensitivity (LSP) had a better performance.
It seems that difference in the sensitivity to sensory stimuli processing, as a biological aspect, plays an effective role in encoding and consolidation of emotional memories.