Better Memory for a Negative Event Associated with Better Emotion Regulation

Abstract

Cognitive resources in older adults may promote psychological well-being. Our data add a novel dimension to this work by demonstrating that superior memory for negative mood induction stimuli is associated with better emotion recovery over time. Older (n = 11) and younger (n = 14) participants were shown film clips depicting themes of loss to induce negative emotions and reduce positive emotions. Self-report emotions were assessed prior to the videos, immediately after the videos, and after 10-minutes of emotion recovery. Results indicated that Positive Affect, Joviality, and Attentiveness significantly (ps < .05) decreased and Negative Affect, Sadness, and Hostility significantly (ps < .05) increased from pre- to post-video. Changes in Guilt were significantly (p < .05) different by age group; scores for younger adults decreased whereas scores for older adults increased. Free recall and recognition memory for the film stimuli were tested. There was a trend for younger adults to have better recognition memory for the negative film stimuli than older adults (p < 0.10). Poorer recognition memory was associated with less efficient emotion recovery for several negative emotions. Specifically, poorer recognition memory was associated with less efficient recovery as a trend for Fear (r = -.35, p < .10) and Sadness (r = -.36, p < .10) and significantly for Guilt (r = -.66, p < .05). Better memory for an event that causes negative emotions may facilitate emotion regulation and emotion recovery. Implications for emotion dysregulation in memory disorders are discussed.