People with an enthusiastic and cheerful mood are less likely to experience memory decline as they age.
- People with higher levels of positive affect had less pronounced memory decline over nearly a decade.
- Mood also conditions children’s learning where some things learned in quiet may no longer be accessible when they are active.
Being in a good mood would be good for the memory. A new study reveals that people who feel enthusiastic and happy, what psychologists call a “positive affect”, are less likely to experience memory decline as they age. The results of this research, published on October 22 in the journal Psychological Scienceconfirm the benefits of a positive state of mind on memory.
Less pronounced memory loss
Researchers have found that a good mood delays memory loss over a long period of time. “Our results showed that memory declines with agefirst found Claudia Haase, associate professor at Northwestern University and co-lead author of the paper. “However, people with higher levels of positive affect had less pronounced memory decline over almost a decade.”, continued Emily Hittner, co-lead author of the article
The researchers analyzed data from 991 middle-aged to older American adults who participated in a national study conducted over three time periods: 1995-1996, 2004-2006, and 2013-2014. Each time, they had to evaluate their emotions felt during the previous 30 days. In the last two assessments, participants also performed memory performance tests. These tests consisted of remembering words immediately after they were presented and again 15 minutes later.
Mood also affects children’s memory
This study is not the first to show a link between mood and memory. Recently, German researchers found that mood conditions babies’ learning. The little ones who were in a less calm mood than they were in when they were learning were unable to imitate the actions of the puppet they had just observed. The authors suggest that this may explain why adults do not remember any early childhood experiences.
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