by hai tranMood-congruency memory retrieval is a phenomenon where people are more likely to recall information that shares the same valence as their concurrent emotional state (Eysenck & Keane, 2020; Groome et al., 2014). In other words, when we are in a negative mood, we tend to remember predominantly negative memories. The reverse is applied when we feel positive. Studies on mood-congruency effect (e.g., Holland & Kensinger, 2010) are critical to the understanding of cognitive distortions in depressed individuals, who tend to ruminate on negative autobiographical episodic memories (Disner et al., 2011), which are memories of personal life events (Holland & Kensinger, 2010). This article will explore research on this phenomenon and show that mood-congruent memory in response to depressed mood is a reliable phenomenon, yet it is moderated/influenced) by several factors. Existing research has suggested a strong link between depressed mood and negative autobiographical episodic memories (for reviews, see Blaney, 1986; Holland & Kensinger, 2010; Matt et al., 1992). In one experiment, people were hypnotised to be in either a sad or happy mood, then asked to read a story. When being asked to recall the story later, sad participants reported more sad incidents than happy participants (Bower, 1981). Parrott (1991) used music to induce moods and found that induced depressed people recalled more negative memories than happy and neutral people. Similar findings were also reported in studies with naturally depressed individuals (Caballero & Moreno, 1993; Watkins et al., 1992). Furthermore, neuroscience research identified a specialised neural system, the left orbitofrontal cortex, corresponding to the mood-congruency retrieval in response to depressed mood (Fitzgerald et al., 2011). Together, these studies suggest a strong link between feeling depressed and remembering negative personal life events. Interestingly, several studies have failed to support this mood-memory link. For example, Kuyken & Dalgleish (1995) compared how long it took for naturally depressed and non-depressed individuals to recall memories from positive and negative cue words. They found no significant differences in reaction times between the two groups. Similarly, induced depressed participants in Krackow et al. (2013) did not recollect more negative than positive stimuli. What’s more, some studies have found mood-incongruency effect in response to depressed mood, in which people remember more positive memories than negative ones when feeling sad (Parrott & Sabini, 1990; van Wingen et al., 2010). Therefore, there seems to be evidence to suggest that the mood-congruency effect in relation to depressed mood is not an absolute effect but moderated by other factors. Indeed, existing studies have highlighted several moderators of the link between depressed mood and autobiographical episodic memories. The first moderator is an attention to affective state. People are more likely to recall negative memories when being depressed if they pay attention to their feelings (Joormann & Siemer, 2004; McFarland & Buehler, 1998). More than that, how they deal with their affect also influences the mood-memory link. McFarland & Buehler (1998) highlighted two types of attitudes towards your feelings: (1) ruminative focus which means brooding over negative mood without trying to change it, and (2) reflective focus which means evaluating the unpleasant emotion and devising strategies to calm it. Their research combined with research by Rusting & DeHart (2000) demonstrated that people who reflected on their negative feelings were less likely to recall negative memories compared to those who ruminated. The third moderator of the mood-congruent retrieval is how relevant the recalled memory is to your mood (Sakaki, 2007). Sakaki (2007) induced participants to be either happy or sad by providing performance feedback on a made-up academic test that participants completed. Participants that were asked to retrieve academic-related memories reported more negative memories than participants that were asked to recollect memories about friendships. In other words, mood congruent memory is more likely when individuals recall memories whose content is relevant to the mood trigger. The fourth moderator is the type of memory task one needs to do. People are more inclined to recollect mood-congruent information in response to depressed feeling when they are not asked to intentionally remember it (Direnfeld & Roberts, 2006). It may be that deliberate recall prevents them from focusing on their emotional state, so they are less likely to process the emotional element of the information. Meanwhile, the processing of the emotion component is necessary for the mood-congruent memory effect to occur (Drace, 2013). The final moderator is the time frame of the memories. Specifically, the effect is stronger for more recent rather than for childhood memories (Salovey & Singer, 1989). These studies demonstrate the complexity of the link between depressed mood and negative autobiographical episodic memories. In general, mood-congruent memory during depressed mood is an established effect. When individuals feel depressed, whether induced or natural, they tend to recall more negative memories. However, this mood-memory link does not always hold and is influenced by several factors. Mood congruent retrieval is stronger when people (1) pay attention to their emotional state, (2) adopt a ruminative focus on their feeling, (3) recall memories that are content-wise relevant to the mood trigger, (4) are not asked to remember information intentionally, and (5) recollect recent rather than childhood memories. References
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