I have noticed frequently, when in a very stressful situation (particularly emotional stress), I will forget things very quickly. To give an example:
Recently, I got in a heated argument with a friend. During the fight, a third friend came in and tried to break it up. "What is this about?" he asked. I was about to answer, and then it occurred to me I didn't know. I was still angry, but the information had already escaped my mind.
I have noticed this happen more than once. I asked someone about it, and they said they had had similar experiences.
Is there some hard science to support the idea that stress negatively affects short term memory?