Question

Depressed patients in one study were asked to recall personal experiences associated with words from a list. The researchers found patients were more likely to recall unhappy experiences when feeling particularly depressed. This finding supports which concept?

A) Repression
B) State-dependent memory
C) Flashbulb memory
D) Schematic memory

Answer 1

The finding that depressed patients recall unhappy experiences supports the concept of state-dependent memory, where individuals are more likely to recall information when in a similar state to when the memory was encoded.

Step-by-step explanation:

The study where depressed patients were found to be more likely to recall unhappy experiences when feeling more depressed supports the concept of state-dependent memory. State-dependent memory is the phenomenon where people are more likely to remember information if their physical or mental state is similar at the time of memory formation and at the time of recall. A classic example of this would be a person who learns something while they are happy; they would be more likely to remember this information when they are happy again.This finding does not support the concepts of repression, flashbulb memory, or schematic memory, as these refer to different memory processes. Repression involves unintentionally blocking memories that cause anxiety from conscious awareness, flashbulb memory is about vividly recalling momentous events, and schematic memory involves recalling general knowledge and frameworks about the world.