Mood dependent memory and the
conditions under which it occurs.
Melissa Daly, & Dr. Howard Smith, Department of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin.
BACKGROUND
METHOD
The
present study investigated Mood dependent
.
memory for self-generated words using a
Musical mood induction procedure.
Design:
A 2 (mood at learning: Happy, Sad) x 2 (mood at
testing: Happy, Sad) between subjects design
with an independent control group without mood
manipulation was used. Participants’ memory for
self-generated words was measured.
Mood dependent memory refers to the
phenomenon where an individual has better
memory for information learned in a particular
mood when this mood is later reinstated (Bower
& Forgas, 2000).
Mood dependent memory is supported by the
associative network theory (Bower, 1981) and
has been argued to play a causal role in memory
disturbances associated with many clinical
disorders (Bower, 1994).
Despite a large number of null findings, the
huge implications that demonstrating this effect
would have for cognitive and clinical research
lead researchers to continue to search for the
conditions necessary for mood dependent
memory to occur (Eich, 1995).
RESULTS
Participants:
75 (50 female, 25 male) psychology students
(n=53) and members of the public (n=22)
participated and were between 18 and 45 years of
age (mean age=24.7).
Procedure:
Testing session 1: Participants
were induced into a happy or
sad mood.
Word Generation: Participants
generated 16 words in a word
association task
Figure 2: Mean mood scores for participants in each mood
group.
DISCUSSION
Strong,
stable
moods
Self
generated
target
words
Testing session 2: Two days
later participants were induced
into the same or opposite mood
MOOD DEPENDENT
MEMORY
Free Recall: Participants’
memory for 16 words was
tested using a free-recall task.
RESULTS
One-way between subjects ANOVA revealed
no significant differences for mean words
remembered between groups.
Memory
Tested
using Free
Recall
Figure 1: Conditions under which Mood Dependent Memory
has been shown to occur.
AIMS
It was hypothesised that a mood dependent
effect would occur in the presence of the
conditions outlined in Figure 1.
It was predicted that:
(a) Participants whose moods at learning and
testing matched would remember more
words than participants whose moods did
not match.
(b) The greater the discrepancy between mood
at learning and testing, the fewer words that
would be remembered
(c) The stronger and more stable the mood, the
greater the mood dependent effect would be.
TEMPLATE DESIGN © 2008
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A significant negative correlation between
words remembered and the difference between
mood at learning and testing was observed;
r=.218, n=60, p<.05, one tailed.
At learning, a significant positive correlation
for words remembered and the degree of mood
change (from before to after mood induction)
was observed; r=+.294, n=60, p<.05, one tailed.
 At testing, a positive correlation for words
remembered and mood change did not prove to
be statistically significant; r=+.002, n=60,
p>.05, one tailed.
As illustrated in Figure 2., mood declined
significantly after free recall; F (3, 181)=9.82,
p<.01, n2=.15. No other significant differences
in mood were observed.
Results did not support overall hypothesis:
participants whose moods matched did not
remember more words than participants whose
moods did not match.
Providing moderate support for the
associative network theory, a greater
discrepancy between mood at learning and
testing predicted a lower rate of recall.
As stronger mood predicted a higher rate of
recall at learning but not at testing, it could be
inferred that strong and stable moods are only
required at learning. Further research is needed.
A significant decline in mood after free recall
meant that mood did not remain stable for the
duration of the experiment.
In light of this, the absence of a mood
dependent effect may be due to a failure to
satisfy all three conditions outlined by previous
research.
Future research should focus on the nature of
the recall task used in order to improve mood
stability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’d like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Howard
Smith for his invaluable help and guidance
throughout the completion of this project.
I’d also like to thank all those who gave up
their time to participate, and my family and
friends for their advice and support over the
last few months.