Memory bias for threatening information related to anxiety: an updated meta-analytic review

The evidence for an anxiety-related memory bias is contradictory. We compiled 171 articles published until October 2016 including a group with clinical or subclinical anxiety and a control group in tasks involving implicit or explicit memory using threatening stimuli. There was an anxiety-related me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Cognitive Psychology 2017-10, Vol.29 (7), p.832-854
Main Authors: Herrera, Sara, Montorio, Ignacio, Cabrera, Isabel, Botella, Juan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anxiety disorders
Cognitive biases
memory bias
meta-analysis
trait anxiety
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Summary:The evidence for an anxiety-related memory bias is contradictory. We compiled 171 articles published until October 2016 including a group with clinical or subclinical anxiety and a control group in tasks involving implicit or explicit memory using threatening stimuli. There was an anxiety-related memory bias in free recall tasks, but it was not observed in another memory task. The between-groups differences showed that the anxious group recalled more threatening stimuli than the control group (d = 0.321). When we compared the group differences (anxious vs. control participants) in the within-groups effect (threatening vs. neutral stimuli), a moderate effect size emerged (d bw  = 0.714). This anxiety-related memory bias was observed with shallow processing, that is consistent with attentional biases related to anxiety. There was also evidence that high-anxious persons recall fewer positive stimuli. Future research is needed to investigate whether this result is a memory or encoding bias and explore other moderator variables.
ISSN:2044-5911
2044-592X
DOI:10.1080/20445911.2017.1319374