Negative verbal self-relevant feedback is recognized with greater accuracy than facial feedback regardless of depression or social anxiety

Self-referent information is critical for navigating the social realm, as we constantly use both verbal and non-verbal feedback in our interactions to understand ourselves and the world. In non-clinical samples, a memory bias for positive self-referent information has been observed, while a negativity bias has been observed among those with depression and anxiety. While research suggests that visual and auditory information is processed differently, no study has yet examined if memory biases persist for self-referent information presented by either means. We examined differences in memory for self-relevant social information presented as verbal or facial feedback, and whether symptoms of depression or anxiety influence memory for such information. We predicted that participants would remember more positive feedback overall, and that depression and anxiety would be positively related to memory for negative items.

Participants gave a speech, and were provided with positive and negative feedback via facial expressions, (n = 25) or verbal feedback presented aurally (n = 26). Participants then did a recognition test for the feedback they recieved.

Recognition was higher for negative compared to positive feedback in the verbal condition, regardless of depression or anxiety. No memory biases were observed in the facial feedback condition.

No neutral stimuli was presented.

Findings suggest that the type of social feedback one receives may influence how information is remembered, regardless of symptomatology. Future studies should examine the mechanisms by which memory biases exist for different types of self-relevant feedback.