Does emotion modulate the efficacy of spaced learning in recognition memory?

Memory for repeated items improves when presentations are spaced during
study. Here, two experiments assessed the so-called spacing effect on a yes–no
recognition memory task using affective and neutral words. In Experiment 1, a group
of participants was asked to orient their attention to semantic features of target words
(deep semantic analysis) that were consecutively repeated or spaced, while another
group was engaged in a graphemic shallow analysis of words (Experiment 2). The depth
of word processing approach was meant to highlight the role of repetition
priming mechanisms in the generation of spacing effects. We found that spacing
effects occurred for both affective and neutral words (Experiment 1). However,
following shallow analysis of words, the spacing effect was reduced for both affective
and neutral words (Experiment 2). No differences were detected in terms of positive
versus negative words. These results suggest that spaced learning operates when
the to-be-remembered material is also affectively charged and that, under certain
circumstances, it may enhance recognition memory as affective connotation does.