The Influence of Current Mood on Fading Affect Bias: An Experimental Approach

When we reminisce about the past this may evoke positive or negative emotions in the current moment. However, these evocations are different from the feelings that were experienced at the time of the event. Fading affect bias is a memory phenomenon that describes how emotions related to positive and negative memories fade over time, specifically that negative emotions fade faster, and to a greater degree, than positive emotions (Walker et al., 1997). It is thought that fading affect bias keeps one’s outlook on life positive by allowing one to learn from negative events without reliving the emotional sting that was experienced at the time (Sedikides & Skowronski, 2020; Skowronski et al., 2014; Walker & Skowronski, 2009). Although fading affect bias involves both memory and emotion, little is known about how current mood influences the phenomenon. Mood can have a powerful effect on memory, but no studies have investigated the effect of manipulating current mood on the differential affective fade seen in fading affect bias. To fill this gap in the literature, the current thesis reports the results of one correlational and six experimental studies examining the effect of current mood on fading affect bias. Overall, the results suggest that fading affect bias is not influenced by either current natural mood or induced mood. Thus, the fading affect bias is more likely to be a stable, individual difference characteristic than a product of current mood (i.e., a state-dependent phenomenon). This research has potential practical applications in health settings. It appears fading affect bias is an individual characteristic that could be encouraged and reinforced to maintain a normative, positive outlook on one’s life. This research also contributes to theoretical knowledge on positive psychology, positive memory biases, and the intersection between memory and mental health.