Emotion and Memory Research: A Grumpy Overview

Abstract

A great deal of research on emotion and memory has focused on the question of whether emotion enhances memory. Based on this research, investigators have variously claimed that emotional memories are indelible; that emotion has no special effects on memory at all; and that emotion leads to enhanced memory for either congruent or central information. In this overview, we review the current status of these claims. Although considerable progress has been made toward understanding whether and how emotion enhances memory, much of this research has been limited by its treatment of emotion as merely “arousal.” Evidence is presented that people process, encode, and retrieve information differently depending upon whether they are feeling happy, fearful, angry, or sad. We argue that a more complete understanding of the effects of emotion on memory will depend upon taking into account the differing motivations and problemsolving strategies associated with discrete emotions.