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Lars was feeling depressed at the time he read a chapter of his history textbook. Lars is likely to recall best the contents of that chapter when he is

A) depressed.
B) happy.
C) relaxed.
D) unemotional.

1 Answer

1 vote

Final answer:

Lars is most likely to recall the history chapter best when he is depressed due to state-dependent memory, where recall is enhanced when in the same emotional state as when the memory was formed. Thus, the option A is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

Lars is likely to recall best the contents of the history chapter when he is depressed. This phenomenon is due to a concept known as state-dependent memory, where an individual is more likely to recall information if they are in the same state of mind when the memory was encoded. When Lars read the chapter while feeling depressed, his emotional state likely influenced how the information was processed and stored, hence if he is in the same emotional state, he may recall the information more readily.

Research such as that by Kessler (1997) discusses the effects of stressful and emotional states on depression and memory. Additionally, the arousal theory supports the idea that emotional intensity of experiences can impact memory recall, with different emotions involved in the physiological processes underpinning memory formation and retrieval.

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