Study Of Gender Differences In Memory And Positive Bias

Study of gender differences in memory and positive bias

Summary

Introduction. In old age there is a deterioration in memory, especially in the operational and episodic memory, affecting to a greater extent to memory while recognition seems not to be altered. Also in old age there is a positive bias in the memory. Goal. Check if there are gender differences in memory, in recognition and in positive bias. Subjects and method. 48 older adults (24 men and 24 women) were evaluated, who obtained a score greater than 26 in the mini-methodal test (folstein, folstein and Mchugh, 1975).Three tests were carried out: free memory, recognition and valuation of the images. Results. No gender differences were found in recognition, memory and positive bias. Conclusions. Following the results found in the study of Giuliani and Arias (2010), no gender differences were found in emotional regulation, and what was stated by Simón, Ruiz and Suengas (2009) were confirmed and the participants valued the images positively by thesimple fact of remembering them.

Keywords: memory, positive bias, memory, gender, aging.

Introduction

In recent times, there has been an increase in investigations related to the elderly, due to the increase in life expectancy in developed countries (Mella, González, D’Appolonio, Maldonado, Fuenzalitya and Diaz, 2004). Spain is undergoing growth in demographic aging faster than the rest of the countries of the European Community (Abades and Rayón, 2013).

According to the National Institute of Statistics (2010), it is expected that in 2050 there will be 16 million older people corresponding to 30% of the total population.

We can define the aging process as a universal phenomenon, producing a general decline of physiological functions, among which are brain functions, where there are a set of behavioral, cognitive and emotional deficits (Bentosela and Mustaca, 2005).

Within the changes that occur in cognition, the most studied field has been that of memory, since there is a deterioration of it (García-Sevilla, Fernández, Fuentes, López, and Moreno, 2014). Among the different types of memory we find that sensory memory, immediate memory, procedural memory, semantic memory in addition to the performance in recognition tasks do not usually suffer a decline and remain intact (Kester, Benjamin, Castel and Craik, 2002; Spencer and Raz, 1995) but on the contrary if they suffer from operational memory and episodic memory (García-Sevilla et al., 2014).

With regard to episodic memory, recognition does not seem to be altered in old age (Sekuler, McLaughlin, Wingfield and Yotsumoto, 2005) or its decline is not as accused as in memory (Kester et al., 2002). This can be due to the fact that the recognition process takes place, the use of a high number of cognitive resources (Koutstaal, Reddy, Jackson, Prince, Cendan and Schacter, 2003) is not needed. Regarding the memory of authors such as Foldi, Brickman, Schaefer and Knutelska (2003), they explain that the primacy effect is still presented both (there is a better memory of the first elements of a list) and the effect of recancy (better memoryof the latest elements of a list), but the total magnitude of the memory decreases. Other authors such as Graff and Uttle (1995) find that the primacy effect accompanied by a decrease in the memory of the central elements of the list disappears, this is due to the deterioration of performance in tasks that require deliberate processing (Simon, Ruiz andSuengas, 2009) Following a worst elaboration of the first elements of the list as proposed by some multi-almacén models (Rundus, 1971) or due to a deficit in the performance of the operational memory (Spinnler, Della Room, Flag and Baddeley, 1988).

 It has also been proven that there are also gender, emotional, linguistic and cognitive differences (García, 2003). With regard to the cognitive level and more concretely in regards to memory, it has been found that women show better performance in verbal memory tasks (Aartsen, Martin and Zimprich, 2004), while men show a performanceupper in working memory (Navarro, Calero and Calero-García, 2014).

On the other hand, several studies state that in old age there is a positive bias, both in attention and in memory, producing an increase in the experience of positive emotions (Math and Carstenen, 2005). This bias occurs despite the increase in negative experiences, not only with regard to diseases and death of loved ones as Rothermund and Brandtstädter (2003) exposes, but also reflected in the difficulty of remembering names and concepts that requireGreat cognitive effort (Juncos-Rabadán, Facal, Álvarez and Rodríguez, 2006).

 Carstenen’s socio -emotional selectivity theory (1993) argues that when it agrees emotional regulation so there is preference for positive memories (Math and Johnson, 2000), this theory defends that in old age because people are aware thatThe time they have is limited is a change towards the optimization of emotional experience (Carstenen, 1993). In addition, Mathher and Carstenen (2005) inferred that older people who have a better cognitive performance will be the ones that most evidence the positive bias, since they will be the most determined in achieving emotional well -being. However, in the study by Simón et al.(2009) This relationship was not found.

In a study with a Spanish population sample conducted by Márquez-González, Izal, Trocóniz, Montorio and Losada (2008), in which they compared emotional regulation in three age groups (young, middle age and older), they found that theOlder people expose greater perceived emotional control and mode. However, they found that older people use to a regulatory strategy the emotional suppression (strategy that consists of blocking emotions and thoughts not to face them) so it can be understood that older people tend to infrainform negative emotional states (Márquez-González et al., 2008). On the other hand, authors such as Davies, Sieber and Hunt (1994) found that older people have greater difficulty in recognizing negative emotional states themselves and other people, and also present greater social desire (Ray, 1988).

Emotional regulation is defined as any attempt that people make to modify an emotional state, altering some factors that precede emotion or on the other hand modifying some component of emotion itself, this has a fundamental influence on subjective well -being andAlso about physical health (Gross and John, 2003).

Also, there are other positions that defend that what is recalled is valueThe emotional control capacity (Lawton, Kleban, Rajagopal and Dean, 1992). Gross, Carstenen, Pasupathi, Tsai, Götestam and Hsu, (1997), state. On the other hand, Simón et al. (2009) explained that older people value what they remember positively for the simple fact that they are able to remember it.

With regard to gender differences in emotional regulation, according to Mauss, Bunge and Gross (2007), they are due to early learning of sociocultural rules that indicate how to show emotions. Sánchez, Fernández-Berrocal, Montañés and Latorre (2008), in a review of studies on gender differences in emotional intelligence confirm the role of socialization, where women have a greater record of their own emotions and those of others. Although gender differences in emotional regulation cannot be explained as something at a conscious level, since the learning of these rules occurs implicitly (Giuliani and Arias, 2010).

In turn, Petrides and Furnham (2000), explain that due to social stereotype men tend to overvalue their level of self-efficacy in emotional intelligence, while women tend to underestimate it.

In the study by McRAE, Ochsner, Mauss, Gross and Gabrieli (2008), using functional magnetic resonance images, the male and female participants were asked to use a strategy to regulate cognitive emotion called “reevaluation” to regulateThe emotional answers of the images with Valencia negative. Gender differences were found, since men showed less activity in the prefrontal regions that are associated with the "reevaluation", in addition to a greater decrease in the activity in the tonsil that are associated with the emotional response and a lower activation of theventral regions of striated that are associated with the processing of rewards. Therefore, men can devote less effort by using cognitive regulation, due to a greater use of automatic regulation of emotions, and women can use positive emotions to reassess negative emotions to a greater extent.

On the other hand, Giuliani and Arias (2010) in their study found what was defended by the theory of socio -emotional selectivity of Cartesen (1993) that older adults without distinction of the genre have a better emotional regulation.

In summary, it seems clear that in old age there is a deterioration in memory, the most affected the operational and episodic memory, there are also gender differences, having a better performance in operational memory. In addition, it seems clear that in old age there is a positive bias in the memory, although it is true that there is no agreement of why it occurs, and there does not seem agreement of whether women or men have greater emotional regulation. Because of this in my study I want to check if there will be gender differences in the recognition task, if there will be differences in the free memory task, if there will be gender differences in positive bias and if this will occur by the simple fact of remembering the stimulipresented above.

Method

Participants

A sample of 48 older adults of the assisted residence of Cáceres, 24 men and 24 women with an age between 66 and 90 years was used. Those who did not suffer cognitive impairment were selected, since they obtained a score greater than 26 in the mini-mechanical test (folstein, folstein and Mchugh, 1975).

Variables

The independent variable would be gender with two levels: man and woman.

Dependent variables would be recognition, memory and positive bias. The recognition will be evaluated through the presentation of 25 words presented with previous.

Design

Experimental, transverse and unifactorial design.

Free memory: To study the effect of gender on free memory (measured as the number of remembered images), a unifactorial anova was carried out with the genre as an intersucetos factor with two levels (man, woman).

Recognition: To study the effect of gender on recognition, a unifactorial anova was carried out with the genre as an interesting factor.

Image assessment (positive bias): Analysis of the average valuations of all images.

Instruments

Mini-Mental State (Folstein, Folstein and Mchugh, 1975): Test that serves to decote if there is cognitive impairment. It is of individual application and the administration time is between 5 to 10 minutes. It is divided into two sections: the first evaluates guidance, memory and attention;The second evaluates the ability to name, follow verbal and written orders, write a prayer spontaneously and copy a complex polygon similar to a Bender-Gestal figure.

25 words with neutral emotional load of different categories: with the aim of evaluating recognition, memory and positive bias, this type of material was also used because it has been shown that mnemic performance is usually better with visual materials than verbal (Janowsky, Carper and Kaye, 1996) . The words were selected from Emofinder (Fraga, Guasch, Haro, Padrón and Ferré, 2018), which is a search engine that contains data from 16.375 different words, to perform normative evaluations in emotional dimensions such as Valencia and discrete emotional categories (see Annex 1).

Process

The test was performed individually and the words were presented in an A4 size notebook.

First 25 words were presented, at a speed of one every ten seconds.

Next, the free memory test was carried out, where the participants were asked to appoint all the words to have seen in the first phase.

Then they carried out the recognition test, where 50 words were presented (25 presented in the first phase and 25 distracting), to indicate whether they had previously seen them or not.

Finally, 50 words were presented that had previously seen to evaluate the pleasure that each of them caused and used a Likert type scale of 1 (very unpleasant) to 7 (very pleasant).

Both the group of men and women performed the 3 tests orally.

Results

The results show that there are no significant differences in free memory, an ANOVA was made [f (1, 47) = 44,30, p = 0.14] that indicates that, together, women remember the images equally ( = 25.77, dt = 4.42) than men ( = 25.05, dt = 4.90).

In relation to recognition, to analyze the answers, a unifactorial anova was carried out with sex as an intersuitos factor that showed that there are no significant differences between both groups [F (1, 47) = 44.30, p = 0.12], men ( = 1,442, dt = 0.635) against women ( = 1,067, dt = 0.369).

Finally, with respect to the assessment of images, the analysis of the average valuations of all the images showed that there are no significant differences between both groups [f (1, 47) = 32.94, p = 0.10] that indicated thatThe men ( = 4,041, dt = 0.85) judged the images equally pleasant as women ( = 4,023, dt = 0.86).

Discussion

The main objective of this study was to check if there were gender differences in memory, recognition and positive bias in a sample of older adults, in addition to whether it would occur by the simple fact of being able to remember the above presented.

With regard to my first hypothesis in which I stated that I would not find gender differences in recognition and from the results obtained through a unifactorial anova, they confirm this hypothesis, since they show that there are no differences between men and women, thisIt may be because recognition seems not to be altered in old age as Sekuler, McLaugghlin, Winfield and Yotsumoto (2005) expose (2005)

In my second hypothesis I stated that men would have a higher performance in the souvenir task. However, the results obtained through a unifatorial anova do not show gender differences and therefore this assumption is not fulfilled. In addition, they also do not confirm the above by the authors Navarro, Calero and Calero-García (2014), since they present that men have a higher performance in working memory.

As for my third hypothesis in which I stated that I would not find gender differences in positive bias, since the results obtained in my study through an anova do not show such differences.These results coincide with those found in the study of Giuliani and Arias (2010), and also confirm what is stated by the theory of socio -emotional selectivity of Cartesen (1993) that older adults without distinction of the genre have a better emotional regulation.

With regard to my last hypothesis in which I stated that positive bias, it will be produced by the simple fact of remembering the stimuli presented above, it is confirmed that my sample of subjects more positively valued the words they remembered, and byTherefore, these results co -unknown by Simón et al. (2009).

Conclusions

This study involves one more contribution both in the field of memory research and in gender differences, however it presents limitations when using a very small sample, so the results that I have obtained cannot be generalized. On the other hand, the results obtained in the valuation of the remembered words have limitations by having used only neutral stimuli and lacking in our case of negative stimuli to verify if the same effects would occur.

Therefore, it is recommended for future investigations that a larger subject sample is used to improve the external validity of the study, in addition to the use of words with negative emotional load to analyze its repercussions on the performance of the task of the task of the taskThe subjects.

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