Negative affect does not impact semantic retrieval failure monitoring

This study investigated the effect of the emotional nature of to-be-retrieved material on semantic retrieval monitoring. Across 2 groups, participants were either asked whether they have experienced a tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state or to make a feeling-of-knowing (FOK) judgment. We examined the overall reporting rate as well as subjective (not accompanied by partial information recall) TOT and FOK reporting, comparing whether these differed between emotional (negatively valenced and arousing) and neutral items. The results demonstrated that emotion does not impact semantic TOT and FOK reports, a conclusion supported by Bayesian analysis of the results. The outcomes extend other findings in the metamemory literature, and are discussed with a focus on future research avenues concerning interactions between emotion and metamemory.