The Effect of Stress Induction on the Inhibition System, Mental Processing / Storage, and Cognitive Failure in Women: The Moderator Role of Emotion Suppression

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of stress induction on the inhibition system, mental processing/ storage, and cognitive failure, considering the moderator role of emotion suppression The research method was quasi-experimental and has a mixed factorial design (2×2). The study population was women in Abadeh, where 112 people were selected as a sample, and based on the suppression scores, they were assigned into two groups of low and high suppression. Each group was evaluated in two stages (no stress, and stress induction), by use of Jackson’s Five Factor Scale, Working Memory Test, and Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mixed variance analysis. The results showed that the mean inhibition in the high-suppression group was higher than in the lower one. After stress induction, the mean of processing/storage, and cognitive failure decreased; in such a way that the mean of processing in the low suppression group, the mean of storage in the high suppression group, and also the mean of cognitive failure in both groups decreased. Therefore, suppression can have negative consequences for the inhibition system, but acute stress can affect the dimensions of working memory. However, stress and its interaction with suppression help improve cognitive failure.

Keywords

• cognitive failure
• inhibition
• stress induction
• suppression
• working memory