Effects of three levels of arousal on 3-back working memory task performance

Abstract

This study investigated how three levels of arousal affected performance of a 3-back working memory task. Ten female and ten male university students participated in this experiment. With pictures selected from a group test, three levels of arousal were induced––i.e., tense, neutral, and relaxed emotions. Each subject was run through the procedure three times, once for each arousal level. The procedure consisted of six phases for each arousal condition: (1) Rest 1 (2 min), (2) Picture 1 (presenting emotion arousing photos for 2 min), (3) 3-back working memory task 1 (2 min), (4) Picture 2 (presenting emotion-arousing photos for 2 min), (5) 3-back working memory task 2 (2 min), and (6) Rest 2 (2 min). The skin conductance level of electrodermal activity was also measured during all phases of the experiment. The accuracy rate of 3-back working memory task performance was the highest at a neutral emotional state, followed by relaxed and then tense emotional states. There were no significant differences in reaction time.

Keywords:

• Arousal level
• 3-back working memory task
• Cognitive performance

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Mid-career Researcher Program through an NRF grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (Grant No. 2009-0084784). This work was also supported by the Pioneer Research Center Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (Grant No. 2011-0027920).