Treatment of concepts with positive emotional connotation according to the quantity of accessible retrieval cues

This study examines the processing of emotionally positive words in memory. The processing level of the stimuli during encoding (low-level or deep-level processing) and the retrieval type (free recall or recognition) were varied. An effect of the valence was observed in the "low-level processing-free recall'' condition. Subjects recall more positive words than neutral ones when few retrieval cues are available. This result is confirmed by a qualitative analysis which shows an organized recall according to the emotional valence only for the "low level'' condition. The results and the implications of this research are discussed in relation to Bower's theory (1981, 1987).