An independence of induced amnesia and emotional response

A photograph of a nude was interpolated midway through a 30-item list. Recognition memory of items at various serial positions was measured by presenting 12 old and 12 new pictures on a test trial. Palmar conductance was also measured. Significantly decreased recognition memory and increased palmar conductance accompanied presentation of the picture of the nude. When the two measures were compared for individual subjects, however, no correlation was found. These data suggest that both responses are likely to occur to the presentation of the critical item but that the responses are independent. In the learning or remembering of otherwise homogenous lists, the presence of a unique item results in enhanced memory for that item. The improved memory for the unique stimulus, however, has often been at