Predicting the likelihood and amount of fading, fixed, flourishing, and flexible positive and negative affect of autobiographical memories

Mem Cognit. 2024 Jan 8. doi: 10.3758/s13421-023-01507-2. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe emotions attributed to an event can change from occurrence to recall. Autobiographical memories (AMs) exhibit fixed affect (i.e., no change in emotionality), fading affect (i.e., a decrease in emotional intensity), flourishing affect (i.e., an increase in emotional intensity), and flexible affect (i.e., change of valence). Mixed-effects multinomial models were used to predict the likelihood of the different affect change categories. Mixed-effects regression models were used to predict the amount of emotional change within each category. Predictors at the event-level were initial intensity, social rehearsal, and recall frequency. Predictors at the participant-level were components of subjective wellbeing. Analyses were based on 1,748 AMs reported by 117 young participants in response to 16 event cues. Frequency biases, and biases in the amount of change across positive and negative emotionality, were found for all types of emotional change. Specifically, there was more fading of negative (29.98%) than positive affect (11.90%), more flourishing of positive (34.27%) than negative affect (9.61%), and more AMs changing from negative to positive valence (13.33%) than vice versa (3.95%). These biases were also evident in the amount of change within the categories. Moreover, slightly more AMs remained fixed in positive (49.89%) than negative affect (47.08%). Both event and participant level pre...

Source: Memory and Cognition - January 9, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Sophie Hoehne Daniel Zimprich Source Type: research