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Fitness Relevant Processing Lab Report

by

Alizé Bland

Department of Behavioral and Social Science Program

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

for

Dr. Karri Verno

PSY 3368: Cognition and Memory

December 2021
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Survival processing modulates the neurocognitive mechanisms of episodic encoding

Forester et. al (2020) examined the neurocognitive processes underlying the survival processing
effect by examining event-related potentials (ERPs) during memory encoding. In other words,
the words encountered in the survival context were associated with improved recall and reduced
false-memory intrusions during a later memory test. These findings suggest that further research
is needed to examine the implications of these ERP findings for understanding the mechanisms
underlying the effect and address how behavioral results add to the existing literature on the
survival processing effect.

Adaptive Memory: Reproduction-Processing Effect

Seitz et. al (2017) conducted this experiment to determine whether a reproduction-processing
effect could be found in an ancestral environment, a modern mating environment, and an
ancestral environment in which the emphasis was on raising offspring as opposed to finding a
mate. In other words, they examined whether people could adapt and survive in a pre-modern
hunter-gatherer society as our ancestors once did. Their findings suggest that when compared to
the survival scenario, the recall did not differ in ratings of how aversive, familiar, imaginative, or
interesting they were considered to be.

The survival advantage: Underlying mechanisms and extant limitations

Kazanas & Altarriba (2015) examined the function of memory through the conditions in which
memory performance exceeds other mnemonic strategies. Their findings suggest that survival
processing does not necessarily motivate memory for words across all types of experimental
manipulations and tasks.

Purpose of the Present Study

The purpose of this experimental study is to look for a relationship between survival

processing and memory recall for Mansfield’s University Fall 2021 Cognition and Memory

class. At this stage in the research, it can be concluded that memory recall is influenced by

survival processing stimuli.

1. Overall, it was hypothesized that the groups would recall survival words better than

the other groups if they were linked to their survival scenario. However, the
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familiarity with each groups’ rating of usefulness or pleasantness with each word will

help make recalling easy.

2. The Plant group will be more likely than the other groups to recall words such as

“flower,” “water,” and “bowl.”

3. The Scavenger group will be more likely than the other groups to recall the words

“bottle” and “key.”

4. The control group will be more likely than the other groups to recall the words “sweater” and

“pillow.”

Method

Participants

In the research conducted by the Fall 2021 Cognition and Memory class, there were a total of 41

participants, several are undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 23. There was no

demographic background to determine whether there were both male and female participants in

the study since the study was combined between the first year and second year of the Cognition

and Memory students that participated in this study.

Materials

Each variable was measured through visual input that participants responded to on a scale of no

usefulness to usefulness and not recalled to recalled. Participants were put into one of the four

groups: Plant, Meat, Scavenger, and Control, and given the task that related to J.S. Nairne’s work

on survival processing of recalling words that are associated with survival or not. These
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consisted of twenty-six words that were primed with words that would relate to the given

scenario.

Procedure

Depending on what group the subject was placed in, their ratings of usefulness/pleasantness will

determine if the survival word presented will have a significant influence on memory recall. The

subjects were asked their preference of the usefulness and recall rate on both a categorical and

nominal scale based on 1-5 and 0-1 of not useful to very useful and recalled and not recalled.

Results

Hypothesis 1: Meat Group

This hypothesis stated that the meat group would be more likely than the other groups to
recall the words “knife” and “rock.”

Hypothesis 2: Plant Group

This hypothesis stated that the plant group would be more likely than the other groups to
recall the words “flower,” “water,” and “bowl.”
Hypothesis 3: Scavenger Group
This hypothesis stated that the scavenger group would be more likely than the other
groups to recall the words “bottle” and “key.”

Hypothesis 4: Control Group

This hypothesis stated that the control group would be more likely than the other groups
to recall the words “sweater” and “pillow.”

Discussion
The research shows that subjects reported higher if the word was drawn to their scenario and

when the word was rated higher on the usefulness scale. Although, groups recalled the majority

of the words that did not apply to their scenarios.

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Limitations

There were no threats to internal validity; neither History, Maturation, Instrumentation, Testing,

Selection Bias, Regression to the mean, Social interactions nor Attrition played a role in the

survey. Neither Population, Sampling Bias, History, Experimenter Effect, Hawthorne effect,

Testing effect, Aptitude treatment nor Situation factor played a role in this study apart from

Ecological Validity; simply because within the greater world population males hold a slight lead

over the female population. The study has shown that there were no indications of whether the

participants identified as either male or female. The data imputer used was Excel; it had some

issues recognizing some data from a few participants. The way we fix this is by using a more

reliable program called SPSS. This program was created for psychological research and

consistent results using all the data we need.

Future Directions

In order to further this research, it would be best for researchers to expand on the previous

studies conducted. With that being said, examining the relationship between survival processing

and different forms of stimulus salience would allow for a better understanding of how fitness

relevance can influence the allocation of cognitive resources. Another way to further this

research would be to establish the functional equivalence of the slow waves observed in these

different paradigms, and this research could lead to novel insights into the survival processing

effect as well as the process of integrating unexpected information into a semantic context.
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REFERENCES

● Forester, G., Kroneisen, M., Erdfelder, E., & Kamp, S.-M. (2020). Survival processing
modulates the neurocognitive mechanisms of episodic encoding. Cognitive, Affective, &
Behavioral Neuroscience, 20(4), 717–729. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00798-1

● Seitz, B. M., Polack, C. W., & Miller, R. R. (2017). Adaptive memory: Is there a
reproduction-processing effect? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory,
and Cognition, 44(8), 1167–1179. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000513

● Kazanas, S. A., & Altarriba, J. (2015). The survival advantage: Underlying mechanisms
and extant limitations. Evolutionary Psychology, 13(2), 147470491501300.
https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491501300204