Forward Testing Effect under Stress – Part III: Insights from Acute Retrieval Stress with Related Word Lists
Wed—HZ_9—Talks8—7802
Presented by: Bernhard Pastötter
The forward testing effect (FTE) refers to the finding that testing previously studied information enhances memory for subsequently studied new information. The FTE is robust, generalizing across different materials and populations. Two previous studies from our group demonstrated that the FTE is unaffected by acute psychosocial stress during encoding or retrieval for unrelated word lists (Pastötter, von Dawans, Domes, & Frings, 2020, 2023). The present study investigated whether the FTE for related word lists is similarly resilient under acute retrieval stress, given differing theoretical explanations for the FTE with regard to unrelated and related item materials. Participants (N=132) studied three categorized word lists, each containing four exemplars from three repeated semantic categories, in anticipation of a cumulative recall test. In the testing condition, participants were tested immediately on lists 1 and 2, while in the restudy condition, they restudied the lists. After studying list 3, acute psychosocial stress was induced in half of the participants using the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G), while the other half served as controls. Salivary cortisol, alpha amylase, and subjective stress were repeatedly measured. Criterion test results revealed that list 3 recall was lower in the stress group than in controls. Importantly, the FTE on list 3 recall was significant and equally present in both groups. These findings indicate that the FTE is robust against psychosocial retrieval stress for both unrelated and related materials. The results are discussed in relation to current FTE theories, highlighting its broad applicability and resilience to stress-related impairments.
Keywords: episodic memory, testing effects, acute psychosocial stress, cortisol, Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G)