Emotional Content in Study Methods for High Schoolers

Copious amounts of research support that emotional content is remembered more descriptively than neutral content. Emotional stimuli is encoded in the brain using a different process than neutral stimuli, forming a network of information that is easier to recall, as well as being recalled more accurately. The method of loci is a study method that takes advantage of the human brain’s function through visualization, and has been shown to increase accuracy on recalled information. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of emotional valence in the method of loci on test accuracy. Participants (n=11, high school students), were trained in the method of loci, applied the method to the passage, and took an eight question test two days later. Results did not show significant evidence that emotional content improves test accuracy, however the mean test score for each test group displays a difference in test scores.