Date of Award
Spring 2026
Language
English
Embargo Period
4-22-2026
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School/Department
Department of Psychology
Program
Cognitive Psychology
First Advisor
Jeanette Altarriba, Ph.D.
Committee Members
Jeanette Altarriba, Ph.D., and Heather Sheridan, Ph.D.
Keywords
adaptive memory, stress, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), survival processing effect
Subject Categories
Cognitive Psychology
Abstract
Cognitive psychologists have examined how evolutionary pressures can shape memory systems and how survival-relevant information is processed. Nairne et al. (2007) established the survival processing paradigm and showed that processing information within a survival context reliably enhances later recall. Previous research has identified academic pressure and financial stress as the most influential stressors for undergraduate students (Patel & Lewis, 2023). Financial stress is widespread and influences multiple domains of life, including health behaviors and psychological well-being (Northern et al., 2010). In this study, two scenarios were created to explore financial and health stress compared to the original grassland survival scenario. This study also included a financial stress scale, self-report questionnaires assessing physical well-being, and a brief interview to identify any possible history of TBI. These measures captured participants' perceived financial stability and health status to understand how these life experiences affect participants and, consequently, how these variables may influence performance within the survival processing paradigm. Participants who were the most financially secure and perceived as having the best health showed a survival advantage. Interestingly, those who are highly stressed about their finances remembered more words than those who reported being the least financially stressed. Additionally, a history of TBI and the age of injury are factors to consider in the future when examining how stressful experiences can influence this paradigm. These results demonstrated that those who face these modern-day pressures are perhaps better prepared to navigate the survival passage because they have experienced “survival” situations in their everyday lives.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hall, Bailey C., "Paying the Price: How Financial and Health Stress can Impact Incidental Memory in the Survival Processing Paradigm" (2026). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 389.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/389