Mood congruent memory: The role of affective focus and gender

Abstract

A considerable, but sometimes inconsistent, body of research exists indicating that affective state imposes a mood congruent bias upon memory. The present study sought to identify the conditions under which this bias is present. College students were classified as dysphoric vs. nondysphoric on the basis of their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form (BDI-SF). Memories elicited were of recent autobiographical events, subsequently rated with respect to happiness/unhappiness. Two variables were considered: gender, and whether or not the subject had completed the BDI-SF just prior to generating memories. Among males who had not just taken the BDI-SF, mood congruence was absent. Both being female and completing the BDI-SF resulted in mood congruence, and these effects were additive. This indicates that mood congruence requires a modicum of awareness of one's own mood state—an awareness which is perhaps chronic among females and which becomes elevated in both genders simply by completing a mood-relevant self-report form.