Adult memory for instances of a repeated emotionally stressful event: does retention interval matter?

This pre-registered study examined the impact of different retention intervals on remembering each instance of an emotionally stressful, repeated event. Eighty-nine adult female participants imagined being a victim of four similar domestic violence instances over a four-week period. Participants then completed recall and recognition memory questions about each instance either immediately, one-week, or three-weeks after the final instance. Overall, the findings showed that memory performance was often most accurate for the first and last instance compared to the middle instances. That is, participants reported more correct information, made fewer memory errors, and had better quality memory reports for the first and last instances compared to the middle instances. However, following a short delay (i.e., no delay and one-week), participants reported more correct information and were better at discriminating between correct and false details for the last instance relative to the others instances, while at a longer delay (i.e., three-weeks), more correct information was recalled for the first instance compared to other instances (there was no effect for memory discrimination). These findings suggest that memory for instances of a repeated event can depend on the position of an instance, and under some circumstances, the retention interval.