Write a 7 pages paper on brain activation of high and low self-esteem individuals. If the predicted result is correct, individuals with low self-esteem will remember more words paired with negative words than the ones paired with positive or neutral words. High self-esteem individuals, however, will remember more words paired with positive words than the ones paired with negative or neutral words. The results from the fMRI study should show significant activation in the right amygdala for low self-esteem individuals and the converse for high self-esteem individuals.
Write a 7 pages paper on brain activation of high and low self-esteem individuals. If the predicted result is correct, individuals with low self-esteem will remember more words paired with negative words than the ones paired with positive or neutral words. High self-esteem individuals, however, will remember more words paired with positive words than the ones paired with negative or neutral words. The results from the fMRI study should show significant activation in the right amygdala for low self-esteem individuals and the converse for high self-esteem individuals. The left hippocampus should be activated regardless of the type of stimuli. The findings from this proposal would be evidence for the relationship between valence memory, brain activation, and personality, and provide a better understanding of depressed and suicidal individuals.
Have you ever wonder why some people seem to remember only negative things that happen in their lives, while others seem to recall only the wonderful events they encounter? This may be due to differences in self-esteem. Research has increasingly shown a connection between self-esteem and memory recall depending on valence. Story (1998) suggested that memory accuracy varies on an individual’s level of self-esteem and favorability of feedback. High self-esteem individuals remembered feedback more accurately when feedback reflects favorably on their personality, whereas low self-esteem individuals remembered feedback more accurately when it puts them in an unfavorable light (Story, 1998). This research indicated that individuals with low self-esteem tend to associate themselves with negative stimuli as opposed to individuals with high self-esteem who associate themselves with positive stimuli. Moreover, people with depression, correlated with low self-esteem, showed preferential recall of negative words. This factor is associated with increased activation in the left hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus during memory encoding (Thomaes et al., 2009).
As technology becomes more advanced, researchers are .able to investigate how the encoding of valence stimuli corresponds to brain activation. .
