Episodic Memory
Word Valence Memory Task
Also called: Emotional word memory, emotional recognition memory, emotional memory enhancement
Compare recognition of positive, negative and neutral words, with separate hit rates, false alarms and memory sensitivity.
4-6 minUntimed
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Try it here first, with no account.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 98
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 8
What it measures
Compare recognition of positive, negative and neutral words. Study a mixed list, then decide which words were shown before.
Constructs
- Emotional memory
- Recognition memory
- Word valence
Research uses
- Emotion and memory research
- Episodic memory research
How the paradigm works
Positive, negative and neutral words can differ in how well they are remembered. This task compares recognition sensitivity for all three categories, with new words of each category to measure false alarms. The main score is the average positive and negative d-prime minus neutral d-prime. Separate category scores show the direction of each effect.
More about the paradigm
Participants study 36 words, 12 per category, in a mixed order. Each word appears for 2 seconds after a 500 ms cross. After 60 seconds of true-or-false arithmetic, they answer Seen or New for 72 words, half studied and half new. Responses have no deadline. Six separate practice words teach the choices with feedback. Settings allow 6 to 12 studied words per category and 0 to 120 seconds of arithmetic.
Our words are written in all eight languages and use mild emotional meanings. Categories are editorial selections rather than measured valence or arousal ratings. Word length, familiarity and semantic relatedness may contribute to category differences; compare language groups separately. This is an adaptation of emotional word recognition research, with original items, a positive category, a shorter list and delay, and binary recognition rather than remember/know responses. It uses no published instrument's items or norms.
Scores exclude answers under 100 ms and keep interrupted attempts separate. D-prime uses the log-linear correction, and each category has its own false alarm rate. No norms are applied to this task: the signed contrast has no better direction. Scores support research and within-study comparisons. Some words occur in other library tests; separate memory tasks across sessions to limit prior exposure.
Scores
- Emotional memory effectd'
- Average d-prime for positive and negative words minus d-prime for neutral words. Positive means emotional words were recognized better.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Positive memory effectd'
- D-prime for positive words minus d-prime for neutral words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Negative memory effectd'
- D-prime for negative words minus d-prime for neutral words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Positive d-primed'
- Sensitivity to studied versus new positive words, with log-linear corrected hit and false alarm rates.
- Higher means better recognition
- Positive hit rate%
- Share of studied words called Seen, for positive words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Positive false alarm rate%
- Share of new words called Seen, for positive words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Positive criterionz
- Minus half the sum of z(hit rate) and z(false alarm rate) for positive words. Positive means a stricter Seen response.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Negative d-primed'
- Sensitivity to studied versus new negative words, with log-linear corrected hit and false alarm rates.
- Higher means better recognition
- Negative hit rate%
- Share of studied words called Seen, for negative words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Negative false alarm rate%
- Share of new words called Seen, for negative words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Negative criterionz
- Minus half the sum of z(hit rate) and z(false alarm rate) for negative words. Positive means a stricter Seen response.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Neutral d-primed'
- Sensitivity to studied versus new neutral words, with log-linear corrected hit and false alarm rates.
- Higher means better recognition
- Neutral hit rate%
- Share of studied words called Seen, for neutral words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Neutral false alarm rate%
- Share of new words called Seen, for neutral words.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Neutral criterionz
- Minus half the sum of z(hit rate) and z(false alarm rate) for neutral words. Positive means a stricter Seen response.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Recognition accuracy%
- Share of usable recognition answers that are correct.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Correct answer timems
- Median time of correct recognition answers, descriptive only.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Anticipationscount
- Recognition answers under 100 ms, excluded from memory scores.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Items testedtrials
- Recognition rows in the selected run.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
- Arithmetic accuracy%
- Share of answered delay problems that are correct.
- Research measure; compare conditions within a study
Use and evidence
98 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 40% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 247 of 582 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 26 |
| 2024 | 18 |
| 2023 | 16 |
| 2022 | 16 |
| 2021 | 22 |
| 2020 | 14 |
| 2019 | 16 |
| 2018 | 15 |
| 2017 | 15 |
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2015 | 22 |
| 2014 | 16 |
| 2013 | 12 |
| 2012 | 8 |
| 2011 | 13 |
| 2010 | 12 |
| 2009 | 9 |
| 2008 | 9 |
| 2007 | 9 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2003 | 2 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2000 | 0 |
Use grade D
30 to 99 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade C
At least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 1
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 6
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 8
Measured on ConductCognition
Pooled across the studies that feed our platform norms, by device group. A figure needs 50 or more people.
No pooled figure yet.
Note on the counts: includes sleep and brain imaging studies.
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 8 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Words
- 72 original words in each of eight languages: 24 positive, 24 negative and 24 neutral, plus 6 separate practice words.
- Study
- 36 words by default, 12 per category; adjustable from 6 to 12 per category. Each appears for 2,000 ms after 500 ms fixation.
- Delay
- 60 seconds of true-or-false arithmetic; adjustable from 0 to 120 seconds.
- Recognition
- 72 words by default, half studied and half new in each category. Untimed Seen and New buttons; no test feedback.
- Practice
- Three words to study, then six recognition decisions with feedback.
- Order
- Seeded study and test orders; study and foil roles change across sessions within each category.
- Main score
- Mean positive and negative d-prime minus neutral d-prime. Each category uses its own new-word false alarm rate.
- Interpretation
- Original mild word categories are not normed ratings. Differences also reflect lexical properties; compare each language separately.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: word_valence_memory_test from the run with most recognition rows; ties use the latest. Half the items are old. Accuracy significantly below 50% invalidates; accuracy not above chance over at least 10 answers is flagged. The same answer on 90% of items invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Answers under 200 ms on at least half of 4 or more answered items invalidate. An incomplete run or skipped delay arithmetic is flagged. A hidden tab withholds the percentile.
Why these rules
Recognition is a balanced Seen/New decision. The signed condition difference itself is never judged. Study exposure and delay require attention to the screen.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Studied words per category | 12 | 6 to 12 |
| Arithmetic delay (seconds) | 60 | 0 to 120 |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Word Valence Memory Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Kensinger & Corkin, 2003), with the standard settings (studied words per category: 12; arithmetic delay (seconds): 60). The main score was emotional memory effect (average d-prime for positive and negative words minus d-prime for neutral words).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Kensinger, E. A., & Corkin, S. (2003). Memory enhancement for emotional words: Are emotional words more vividly remembered than neutral words? Memory & Cognition, 31(8), 1169-1180. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195800
- Hautus, M. J. (1995). Corrections for extreme proportions and their biasing effects on estimated values of d′. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 27(1), 46-51. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203619Log-linear correction for recognition sensitivity.
Source papers
- Kensinger, E. A., & Corkin, S. (2003). Memory enhancement for emotional words: Are emotional words more vividly remembered than neutral words? Memory & Cognition, 31(8), 1169-1180.Paradigm source
Questions
How long does the Word Valence Memory Task take?
About 4 to 6 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Emotional memory effect, Positive memory effect, Negative memory effect, Positive d-prime, Positive hit rate, Positive false alarm rate, Positive criterion, Negative d-prime, Negative hit rate, Negative false alarm rate, Negative criterion, Neutral d-prime, Neutral hit rate, Neutral false alarm rate, Neutral criterion, Recognition accuracy, Correct answer time, Anticipations, Items tested and Arithmetic accuracy. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Word Valence Memory Task used in research?
98 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, up 40% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 247 of 582 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade D). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 8 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Word Valence Memory Task have?
In the published research, 1 paper reports its test-retest reliability and 8 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade C in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Studied words per category (6 to 12) and arithmetic delay (seconds) (0 to 120). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese, with its words in the same language. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
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