Recognition memory for low- and high-frequency-filtered emotional faces: Low spatial frequencies drive emotional memory enhancement, whereas high spatial frequencies drive the emotion-induced recognition bias

Abstract

This article deals with two well-documented phenomena regarding emotional stimuli: emotional memory enhancement-that is, better long-term memory for emotional than for neutral stimuli-and the emotion-induced recognition bias-that is, a more liberal response criterion for emotional than for neutral stimuli. Studies on visual emotion perception and attention suggest that emotion-related processes can be modulated by means of spatial-frequency filtering of the presented emotional stimuli. Specifically, low spatial frequencies are assumed to play a primary role for the influence of emotion on attention and judgment. Given this theoretical background, we investigated whether spatial-frequency filtering also impacts (1) the memory advantage for emotional faces and (2) the emotion-induced recognition bias, in a series of old/new recognition experiments. Participants completed incidental-learning tasks with high- (HSF) and low- (LSF) spatial-frequency-filtered emotional and neutral faces. The results of the surprise recognition tests showed a clear memory advantage for emotional stimuli. Most importantly, the emotional memory enhancement was significantly larger for face images containing only low-frequency information (LSF faces) than for HSF faces across all experiments, suggesting that LSF information plays a critical role in this effect, whereas the emotion-induced recognition bias was found only for HSF stimuli. We discuss our findings in terms of both the traditional account of different processing pathways for HSF and LSF information and a stimulus features account. The double dissociation in the results favors the latter account-that is, an explanation in terms of differences in the characteristics of HSF and LSF stimuli.

The effect of fearful expressions on recognition memory for faces: Behavioral and electrophysiological data

“…In recognition tests, participants indicate whether a stimulus is presented for the first time ('new') or whether it has been presented before ('old'), and emotional stimuli are more likely to be correctly recognized as old (i.e., a hit). In several previous studies on recognition memory for fearful faces, old/new discrimination was better for fearful than positive/happy and/or neutral faces (Fischer et al, 2007;Righi et al, 2012;Rohr et al, 2017;Sergerie et al, 2006;Wang, 2013).…”

“…In line with previous findings (Righi et al, 2012) and with the liberal response bias for fearful faces, participants in both studies were also quicker to correctly decide that fearful compared to neutral faces were old, but slower to correctly decide that fearful compared to neutral faces were new (significant in Study 1). Although previous studies have observed enhanced recognition memory for fearful faces (Fischer et al, 2007;Righi et al, 2012;Rohr et al, 2017;Sergerie et al, 2006;Wang, 2013), a liberal response for fearful faces has been observed instead in prior research as well (Rohr et al, 2017). Interestingly, the latter study examined the role of spatial frequencies in recognition memory for emotional faces and found that low spatial frequencies drive the enhanced recognition memory for fearful faces, whereas high spatial frequencies drive the liberal response bias for fearful faces.…”

Modulation of emotion-enhanced recollection by gender and task instructions.

“…Johansson et al (2004) failed to observe an effect of emotion on discrimination or bias with know responses. In a recent investigation, Rohr et al (2017) observed EEM effects across direct and indirect encoding tasks for both recollection and familiarity on indices of discrimination and response bias, as well as across negative (fear) and positive (happy) facial stimuli.…”