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Influence of emotional state on irrelevant thoughts
D C Gunther1, F R Ferraro, T Kirchner
1Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|November 12, 2013
Summary
Sad moods impair long-term memory retrieval by increasing irrelevant thoughts. This suggests a failure to inhibit distracting information impacts cognitive performance during sad emotional states.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Affective Science
- Memory Research
Background:
- The fan effect paradigm measures memory retrieval efficiency.
- Emotional states can influence cognitive processes, including memory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how induced emotional mood states affect long-term memory retrieval.
- To examine the role of irrelevant thoughts in memory performance under different moods.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the fan effect paradigm with target facts embedded in sentences.
- Induced happy, sad, or neutral moods in participants.
- Assessed memory retrieval using speeded recognition and lexical decision tasks.
Main Results:
- Sad mood induction led to increased response times and error rates in memory retrieval.
- A positive correlation was found between response time and irrelevant thoughts in the sad mood group.
- Sad mood was associated with a failure to inhibit irrelevant information.
Conclusions:
- Sad mood states interfere with the inhibition of irrelevant thoughts, impacting memory retrieval.
- Cognitive control deficits, specifically in inhibiting irrelevant information, may underlie memory impairments in sad moods.
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