The Effects of Stress on Prospective Memory

The purpose of the study is to use an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience to create fear to examine the effects of induced acute stress on an individual’s prospective memory, which deals with remembering to do something in the future. Past research exploring the impact of acute psychosocial stress has shown that higher levels of stress improves performance of prospective memory tasks1. Other studies examining the effects of acute stress on prospective memory have required participants placing their hands in ice water2, and placed participants in a face-to-face simulated job interview3 to induce stress. Other research on acute stress and prospective memory appears to be at odds with the Yerkes- Dodson Law, which suggests an inverted “U” pattern with respect to anxiety/stress/arousal and performance