COVID-19 and Memory: A Novel Contamination Effect in Memory.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• The Behavioral Immune System (BIS) is a psychological defense mechanism protecting against pathogen exposure.
• Memory plays a crucial role in the BIS's ability to identify and avoid potential disease threats.
• Understanding how the BIS operates is vital, especially in the context of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the presence and ease of acquisition of "contamination effects" in human memory.
• To examine the relationship between memory recall and perceived pathogen exposure related to COVID-19.
• To determine if memory enhancement occurs for objects associated with contagious individuals, even without visual disease cues.

Main Methods:

• Participants (N=80 adults) were shown photographs of everyday objects.
• Objects were depicted as being held by either a healthy individual or a contagious person infected with SARS-CoV-2.
• Memory recall for objects handled by the contagious (contaminated) versus healthy (non-contaminated) person was compared.

Main Results:

• Objects associated with a contagious person ("contaminated objects") were recalled significantly better than those handled by a healthy person.
• This memory enhancement suggests a readily acquired contamination effect in human memory.
• The effect was observed even when no apparent visual cues of disease were present.

Conclusions:

• Human memory readily acquires a contamination effect, enhancing recall for objects linked to pathogen carriers.
• This finding supports the role of memory as a key component of the Behavioral Immune System.
• The BIS can be activated and influence memory even in the absence of explicit visual disease indicators.