engleski

Effect of stress and progressive muscle relaxation on short-term and long-term memory of neutral and emotional words

Stress has a complex effect on learning and memory in that it may improve or weaken them. This study aimed to establish the effect of stress and progressive muscle relaxation on short-term and long-term memory of neutral and emotional words. The participants (n=90) were divided by random selection into two experimental and one control group and their heart rate variability was measured. The participants in the first experimental situation were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (n=32). In the second experimental situation the participants listened to a recording for progressive muscle relaxation (n=32). Memory was tested directly after exposure to the experimental or control situation by the immediate recall method. The next day, their memory of the list of words was tested by free recall and recognition. The results showed that listening to the relaxation recording led to a significantly higher high- frequency variability which is an indication of effective relaxation. Positive and neutral words were remembered much better than negative ones, but there were no significant differences in the memory of neutral and emotional words between groups of participants. The data indicate the need for more strict experimental control to examine the effect of stress and relaxation on memory.

stress ; progressive muscle relaxation ; learning ; memory ; heart rate variability (HRV)

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