Emotional Memory

Getting back to PTSD, another type of non declarative memory is emotional memory. Now, this has a specific meaning in psychology and refers to our ability to learn about cues in our environment and their emotional and motivational significance. What do I mean by that? Well, think of a cue like the smell of baking bread, or a more abstract cue like a 20 pound note. Because these cues have been pegged with good things in the past, we like them and we approach them. Other cues, like the buzzing of a wasp, elicit very negative emotions and quite dramatic avoidance behaviour in some people. Now, I hate wasps. I can tell you that fact. But what I can't give you are the non declarative emotional memories for how I react when there's a wasp nearby. I can't give you the racing heart, the sweaty palms, that sense of rising panic. I can describe them to you, but I can't give them to you.