Positive emotion enhances association-memory

Madan, Christopher R.; Scott, Sarah M.E.; Kensinger, Elizabeth A.

Abstract

The influence of emotion on association-memory is often attributed to arousal, but negative stimuli are typically used to test for these effects. While prior studies of negative emotion on association-memory have found impairments, theories suggest that positive emotion may have a distinct effect on memory, and may lead to enhanced association-memory. Here we tested participants’ memory for pairs of positive and neutral words using cued recall, supplemented with a mathematical modeling approach designed to disentangle item- versus association-memory effects that may otherwise confound cued-recall performance. We consistently found enhanced association-memory due to positive emotion. These results provide further evidence that positive information is processed differently than negative and that, when examining association formation, valence as well as arousal must be considered.

Citation

Madan, C. R., Scott, S. M., & Kensinger, E. A. (2019). Positive emotion enhances association-memory. Emotion, 19(4), 733-740. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000465

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 25, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Aug 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 1, 2018
• Journal: Emotion
• Print ISSN: 1528-3542
• Electronic ISSN: 1931-1516
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 733-740
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000465
• Keywords: valence; association-memory; emotion; arousal; positive emotion ; memory
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/927793
• Publisher URL: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-40997-001
• Additional Information: © American Psychological Association, 2018. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0000465.