When personality meets surprise: individual differences in memory for unexpected events.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Expectation shapes memory formation, with unexpected stimuli typically eliciting richer encoding, greater associative processing, and superior recollection. Yet, the role of personality traits in modulating this effect is poorly understood, despite their potential influence on how individuals engage with and interpret environmental cues. This study investigated whether dispositional factors shape memory encoding for expected versus unexpected events.

Methods

Across two experiments, participants learned symbol-stimulus contingencies that were later violated for a subset of stimuli at encoding, followed by a recognition memory test. Additionally, in Experiment 1 (n = 55), state/trait anxiety and risk-taking were measured, while in Experiment 2 (n = 1

SUBMITTER: Kafkas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12719420 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature