Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 4-30-2021
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management
First Advisor
Paul D. Loprinzi
Second Advisor
Jeremy Loenneke
Third Advisor
Kris Brasher
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
ABSTRACT ASHLEY LOVORN: Acute Open vs. Closed Skill Exercise on Emotional Memory (Under the direction of Dr. Paul D. Loprinzi)
Accumulating research suggests that acute exercise may influence emotional memory. However, there is limited research on this topic evaluating which modality of exercise elicits the greatest effects on emotional memory. The purpose of this thesis experiment was to evaluate if treadmill exercise (closed-skill) has a differential impact on emotional memory relative to racquetball exercise (open-skill). One-hundred and ninety- three participants were recruited and divided into three groups: closed-skill (N=65), open- skill (N=65) and control (N=64). Prior to exercise, each of the groups watched a 10 minute car crash video. After the video, the three groups exercised (or stretched; control condition) for 30 minutes at a moderate intensity. Following exercise, the participants completed a Cued Recall Test in order to test their memory of the car crash video; for each item on the test, participants also rendered confidence ratings. Following this assessment, participants completed a memory intrusions assessment, evaluating the extent to which they thought about the emotional details during their bout of exercise. Our findings are as follows: (1) central details were remembered more frequently than peripheral details, (2) acute exercise did not impact central or peripheral emotional details directly, but (3) acute exercise increased intrusion memories, as well as the relationship between perceptions of memory confidence and memory accuracy. In conclusion, although the modality of exercise did not have a reliable differential effect on emotional memory, acute exercise may influence aspects (e.g., intrusion memories, association between perceptions of confidence and memory accuracy) of emotional memory.
Recommended Citation
Lovorn, Ashley, "Open vs. Closed Skill Acute Exercise on Emotional Memory" (2021). Honors Theses. 1653.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1653
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