The detrimental effects of mood on prospective memory are modulated by age.

Abstract

Everyday fluctuations in mood can influence our ability to remember to carry out intentions (prospective memory). Theories of mood-cognition interaction make differing predictions about the effects of positive and negative mood states on cognition that may change in aging. To test these predictions, we looked at the effects of age and induced mood on different types of prospective memory tasks. Results showed that on a task which required constant attentional monitoring (event-based prospective memory) young adults' performance was impaired by negative mood, while older adults' performance was not influenced by mood. Further analyses indicated that the deleterious effects of negative mood states in young participants were related to decreased monitoring. In another task which required more intermittent monitoring (time-based prospective memory), older adults' performance actually improved under positive mood, whereas young adults showed no effect of mood. Contrary to predictions, these age differences were not related to improved emotion regulation in old age. We conclude that young adults are more likely than older to show prospective memory failures caused by negative mood. Future research priorities are outlined to better understand the motivational and task characteristics which influence this phenomenon.

Remember to stay positive: Affect and prospective memory in everyday life

“…Another possible limitation of the present findings may be limited statistical power. Since no similar naturalistic studies on affect and PM were conducted before, the power calculation was based on effects derived by a previous laboratory study investigating age by affect interactions on PM (Pupillo et al, 2021). However, lab‐induced affect might be more intense compared to naturally occurring fluctuations of affect leading to an underestimation of the number of participants required to detect effects of affect and age on PM in a naturalistic setting.…”

“…The sample included 74 participants, 37 young ( M age = 21.61, age range = 18–29, 14 male, 23 female) and 37 older adults ( M age = 67.22, age range = 60–70, 12 male, 25 female). The statistical power to reveal an interaction between affect, PM, and age group, based on the effect sizes published by previous research (Pupillo et al, 2021), was 1 − β = 0.82. All young adults were students at the University of Aberdeen who volunteered in exchange for course credits, while all older adults were volunteers recruited using the participant panel of the School of Psychology.…”

“…For example, Phillips et al (2002) found more detrimental effects of positive and negative mood on planning performance in older compared to young adults. However, other studies support the idea that older adults are more skilled in dealing with emotions, showing that positive and negative affect may impair prospective memory in young but not older adults (Pupillo, Phillips, & Schnitzspahn, 2021; Schnitzspahn et al, 2014). Other studies indicate no age differences in the effects of induced mood states on working memory (Scheibe & Blanchard‐Fields, 2009) and episodic recall (Emery, Hale, & Myerson, 2008).…”

Effect of mood and emotional content on working memory: the role of the central executive and the hedonic detector

“…They might have different impacts on decision-making (Nuñez et al, 2015) and result in contrasting findings. In this perspective, this mood procedure divergences could explain the different results between the present research and previous studies with depressed patients (for a review, see LeMoult & Gotlib, 2019) and healthy individuals induced into a sad mood (Pupillo, et al, 2020;Szasz et al, 2016). Second, the present study did not access or control the participants 'intelligence.…”

“…Prior studies have focused on the crucial role of emotion on cognition by investigating the influence of mood and emotional states on memory, decision-making and emotional perception (Baddeley et al, 2012;Gunn & Finn, 2015;Pupillo et al, 2020;Storbeck & Clore, 2005;Storbeck & Maswood, 2015). For instance, Baddeley and colleagues (2012) investigated the effect of mood induction (i.e., negative, positive, neutral) in perception and evaluation of emotional valence in stimuli like words, pictures and faces.…”