Cross-Cultural Evaluation of Associative Memory Intervention Using Virtual Reality.

BACKGROUND

Associative memory is essential for daily functioning; however, VR interventions in this domain are limited.

OBJECTIVES

The present study examined associative memory in different modalities and investigated the effects of culture on performance and response time in a virtual environment.

METHODS

Twenty-two healthy younger adults from Italy and Ghana (ages 18-26) completed eight training trial sessions on object-name matching and object-sound matching tasks in a virtual environment.

RESULTS

Performance improved progressively across trials in both tasks, with greater accuracy and faster response times in the object-name task than in the object-sound task. Cross-cultural comparisons revealed no significant performance differences between the Ghanaians and Italians. However, the Italians completed both tasks significantly faster than the Ghanaians.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the present study indicate that associative memory is culturally invariant, whereas response-time differences may reflect cultural influences on processing strategies. Overall, this study supports the use of VR as a culturally adaptable platform for associative memory assessment and training.