Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Relation between rumination and impaired memory in dysphoric moods

P T Hertel1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas 78212, USA. phertel@trinity.edu

Journal of Abnormal Psychology
|March 20, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Dysphoria impairs memory retrieval, particularly controlled recall. Self-irrelevant tasks can prevent this memory impairment in students experiencing dysphoria, suggesting rumination worsens memory.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Depressive deficits in memory: implications for memory improvement following traumatic brain injury.

NeuroRehabilitation·2014
Same author

Solving problems by analogy: the benefits and detriments of hints and depressed moods.

Memory & cognition·1996
Same author

Depressive deficits in recognition: dissociation of recollection and familiarity.

Journal of abnormal psychology·1994
Same author

Depressive deficits in memory: focusing attention improves subsequent recall.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·1991
Same author

Remembering with and without awareness in a depressed mood: evidence of deficits in initiative.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·1990
Same author

Adult age differences in knowledge of retrieval processes.

International journal of aging & human development·1989

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Dysphoria is linked to memory impairments.
  • The role of task-irrelevant thoughts in these impairments is not fully understood.
  • Rumination is a common cognitive pattern in dysphoria.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how different types of task-irrelevant thoughts affect memory retrieval in college students with dysphoria.
  • To examine the impact of rumination on memory performance.
  • To differentiate between controlled and automatic memory retrieval processes.

Main Methods:

  • College students in dysphoric or nondysphoric moods studied word pairs.
  • Participants completed a fragment-completion memory test using process-dissociation procedures.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Intervening tasks included quiet waiting, rating self-focused materials (rumination induction), or rating self-irrelevant materials.

    • Main Results:

    • A dysphoria-related impairment in controlled memory retrieval was observed in participants who waited or ruminated.
    • This memory impairment was not present in students who engaged with self-irrelevant materials.
    • Automatic retrieval was not significantly affected by mood or intervening tasks.

    Conclusions:

    • The nature of task-irrelevant thoughts significantly influences memory impairments associated with dysphoria.
    • Self-focused rumination may exacerbate memory deficits in dysphoric individuals.
    • Engaging in non-self-relevant tasks can mitigate memory impairments in dysphoria.