Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Role of Amygdala in Memory01:16

Role of Amygdala in Memory

932
The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure responsible for processing and storing memories, particularly those linked to emotions like fear and stress. It plays an essential role in the brain's response to emotionally significant events and often enhances memory formation by triggering stress hormone release. The amygdala is vital for encoding and retrieving memories associated with fear or stress, a process that is adaptive by helping organisms avoid dangerous situations.
One of the...
932
Nonconscious Mimicry01:13

Nonconscious Mimicry

5.0K
Nonconscious mimicry occurs when individuals alter their mannerisms to match the behaviors and expressions of those nearby, without intention.
5.0K
Facial Feedback Hypothesis01:24

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

487
Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role...
487
Cognitive Theories: Schachter-Singer Theory of Emotion01:20

Cognitive Theories: Schachter-Singer Theory of Emotion

1.3K
Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer proposed the two-factor theory of emotion, which emphasizes the interplay between physiological arousal and cognitive labeling in forming emotional experiences. This theory suggests that emotions are not simply a result of physiological responses but rather a combination of these responses and the individual's cognitive interpretation of them.
Physiological Arousal and Cognitive Labeling
According to this theory, when an individual experiences...
1.3K
Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System01:15

Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System

6.0K
The limbic system, often called the "emotional brain," is a complex set of structures located deep within the brain. The intricate network of the limbic system supports a wide range of psychological functions, from emotional regulation to memory formation and sensory processing. This functional brain region encompasses specific parts of the diencephalon and the cerebrum, integrating the higher mental functions of the cerebral cortex with the primitive emotional responses of the deep brain...
6.0K
Stereotype Content Model02:16

Stereotype Content Model

15.3K
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...
15.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Is a (Threatening) Picture (of an Animate Stimulus) Worth a Thousand Words? The Animacy Effect Using Eyetracking and Photographic Stimuli.

Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior·2026
Same author

Thinking of death and remembering living things: mortality salience and the animacy effect.

Memory (Hove, England)·2022
Same author

Adaptive memory: Animacy, threat, and attention in free recall.

Memory & cognition·2018
Same author

Adaptive Memory: Survival Processing and Social Isolation.

Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior·2018
Same author

Need for Cognition and False Memory: Can One's Natural Processing Style Be Manipulated by External Factors?

The American journal of psychology·2016
Same author

Memory conjunction clusters: Influence of familiarity and recollection.

Memory (Hove, England)·2015
Same journal

The properties of personal semantics.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Music enhances associative generalization: Evidence from a memory integration task.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Video, text, and memory: An emotional verbal overshadowing effect.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Limited protective effects of multilingualism against age-related cognitive decline.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Validation of illustrated texts: Can pictures raise awareness of inconsistencies?

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

I remember (and forget) your happy smiling face: Directed forgetting of emotionally expressive faces of in-group and out-group members.

Memory & cognition·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.6K

Animacy and threat in recognition memory.

Juliana K Leding1

  • 1Department of Psychology, 1 UNF Drive, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA. j.leding@unf.edu.

Memory & Cognition
|January 31, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Animate and threatening items are better remembered than inanimate or non-threatening ones, suggesting survival-related memory prioritization. Attention capture may explain why animate items enhance memory.

Keywords:
AnimacyEpisodic memoryRecognition memorySurvival advantageThreat

More Related Videos

Behavioral Tasks for Examining Identity Recognition In Mice
06:58

Behavioral Tasks for Examining Identity Recognition In Mice

Published on: February 7, 2025

1.1K
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
05:48

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

1.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.6K
Behavioral Tasks for Examining Identity Recognition In Mice
06:58

Behavioral Tasks for Examining Identity Recognition In Mice

Published on: February 7, 2025

1.1K
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
05:48

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

1.9K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Memory Studies

Background:

  • Human memory shows a bias towards remembering animate over inanimate objects.
  • This animacy effect may be linked to evolutionary survival mechanisms.
  • The precise cognitive mechanisms underlying the animacy effect are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of attention in the animacy effect on memory.
  • To examine the influence of perceived threat on memory recognition.
  • To determine if animacy and threat effects persist under different response time conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Experiment 1: Manipulated animacy and threat, measuring target and false-alarm recognition.
  • Experiment 2: Employed a response signal delay (RSD) to alter response time during recognition testing.
  • Statistical analysis using d' scores to assess recognition sensitivity.

Main Results:

  • Animate and threatening items yielded higher target and false-alarm recognition rates than inanimate and non-threatening items.
  • These animacy and threat effects were robust and not eliminated by d' score calculations.
  • The effects of animacy and threat remained consistent regardless of the response signal delay (RSD) manipulation.

Conclusions:

  • The animacy and threat effects on memory recognition are significant and reliable.
  • Attention capture is a likely contributing factor to the enhanced memory for animate items.
  • These findings support the hypothesis that memory systems prioritize survival-relevant information.