Abstract
This study investigates the survival processing advantage from a semantic perspective by examining whether the intrinsic survival value of words enhances memory recall in the absence of an explicit survival context. Forty-eight university students completed a free recall task using words rated for their relevance to two survival-related dimensions: obtaining food and avoiding death. Results showed that high-survival-value words were recalled significantly better than neutral words across both dimensions, demonstrating that intrinsic semantic properties of stimuli can engage adaptive memory mechanisms, even in the absence of survival-oriented encoding contexts. These findings extend traditional theories that emphasize contextual survival scenarios as necessary triggers for the mnemonic advantage, suggesting that survival processing can also operate as a semantic feature of stimuli. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed, along with future research directions, including diverse memory measures, broader populations, and long-term retention effects. Overall, this study introduces a novel and well-controlled stimulus-based approach that complements and enriches the conceptual and experimental framework of adaptive memory.