The Effect of Emotional Valence and Gender on False Memories

Year 2025, Volume: 35 Issue: 3, 877 - 891, 23.09.2025

Emre Erol , Handan Can

https://doi.org/10.18069/firatsbed.1564719

Abstract

The term false memory refers to remembering an event that never occurred or recalling a real event in a distorted way. This study aimed to examine the effects of emotional valence and gender on false memory. The sample consisted of 50 female and 50 male university students. To assess false memory, DRM word lists were developed that varied in emotional valence (negative, positive, neutral) but were balanced in terms of arousal, concreteness, imagery, word frequency and length. Data were analyzed using mixed-design ANOVA to examine the interaction effects of emotional valence, word type, and gender. Results showed that false recognition rates for critical lures did not differ across emotional valence. No significant main or interaction effects of gender were found. Thus, when arousal level was controlled, false memory did not significantly vary based on emotional valence or gender. However, for neutral valence, correctly recognized studied words were higher than falsely recognized critical lures, while for negative valence, falsely recognized critical lures were higher than correctly recognized studied words. No such differentiation was observed for positive valence. In this context, it was concluded that negatively valenced events may enhance susceptibility to false memories, and findings were discussed within false memory theories.

Keywords

false memory , emotional valence , arousal , word type , gender

Bellek Yanılmalarında Duygusal Değerlik ve Cinsiyet Etkisi

Abstract

Hiç yaşanmamış bir olayın yaşanmış gibi ya da yaşanmış bir olayın gerçekte olduğundan farklı biçimde hatırlanması, bellek yanılması olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Mevcut çalışmanın amacı, bellek yanılması üzerinde duygusal değerlik ve cinsiyet etkisini incelemektir. Çalışmanın örneklemini, üniversite öğrencisi olan 50 kadın ve 50 erkek oluşturmaktadır. Bellek yanılmasını değerlendirmek için araştırmacılar tarafından duygusal değerlik (negatif, pozitif, nötr) açısından farklılaşan; ancak uyarılma, somutluk, imgelem, kelime sıklığı ve kelime uzunluğu faktörleri açısından farklılaşmayan DRM listeleri oluşturulmuştur. Veriler; duygusal değerlik, kelime türü ve cinsiyet etkileşimini değerlendirmek üzere karma varyans analizi ile incelenmiştir. Analiz sonucunda, kritik çeldiricileri yanlış tanıma oranlarının duygusal değerliğe göre farklılaşmadığı bulunmuştur. Ayrıca cinsiyetin temel etkisi ve diğer değişkenlerle etkileşimlerinin de anlamlı olmadığı saptanmıştır. Uyarılma düzeyinin dengelendiği bu durumda, bellek yanılmasının, duygusal değerliğin ve cinsiyetin farklı düzeylerine göre farklılaşmadığı anlaşılmıştır. Diğer taraftan, nötr değerlik için doğru tanınan çalışılmış kelime oranı, yanlış tanınan kritik çeldiricilerden; negatif değerlik için yanlış tanınan kritik çeldirici oranı, doğru tanınan çalışılmış kelimelerden daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Pozitif değerlikte ise böyle bir farklılaşma görülmemiştir. Bu bağlamda negatif değerliğe sahip olayların bellek yanılmalarına karşı duyarlılığı arttırabileceği sonucuna varılmış ve elde edilen bulgular bellek yanılması teorileri kapsamında tartışılmıştır.

Keywords

bellek yanılması , duygusal değerlik , uyarılma , kelime türü , cinsiyet

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