Positive affect improves working memory: Implications for controlled cognitive processing

Abstract

This study examined the effects of positive affect on working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM). Given that WM involves both storage and controlled processing and that STM primarily involves storage processing, we hypothesised that if positive affect facilitates controlled processing, it should improve WM more than STM. The results demonstrated that positive affect, compared with neutral affect, significantly enhanced WM, as measured by the operation span task. The influence of positive affect on STM, however, was weaker. These results suggest that positive affect enhances WM, a task that involves controlled processing, not just storage processing. Additional analyses of recall and processing times and accuracy further suggest that improved WM under positive affect is not attributable to motivational differences, but results instead from improved controlled cognitive processing.

Examining the role of emotional valence of mind wandering: All mind wandering is not equal

“…In order to provide sufficient evidence that positive and negative affect differ in their impact on ongoing task performance, it would be critical to be able to manipulate levels of positive and negative TUTs and examine the subsequent changes in task performance. Despite this limitation, the results are consistent with findings of manipulations designed to alter working memory by increasing negative affect (Curci, Lanciano, Soleti, & Rime, 2013) or positive affect (Yang, Yang, & Isen, 2013). A second limitation in the current set of studies has to do with the nature of the tasks used to assess the impact of TUTs on task performance.…”

Positive affect predicts cerebral glucose metabolism in late middle-aged adults

“…Consistent with this theory, positive affect is associated with reduced morbidity for a variety of known risk factors (e.g. cardiovascular; chronic stress) for AD (Boehm and Kubzansky, 2012; Pressman and Cohen, 2005; Steptoe et al , 2005), enhanced cognitive functioning (Ashby et al , 1999; Carpenter et al , 2013; Yang et al , 2013), and as our work suggests, relatively higher levels of cerebral glucose metabolism in regions vulnerable to early neuropathological changes. Thus, interventions targeting positive affect could have potential in mitigating pathological processes associated with cognitive and functional decline through increasing flexible and adaptive responses (e.g.…”

Personality Interacts With Implicit Affect to Predict Performance in Analytic Versus Holistic Processing

“…In her review chapter, Isen () asserts that not a strong (explicit) but a mild induction of positive affect is most effective in facilitating performance on the remote associates task. Recently, Yang, Yang, and Isen () reported significant increments on short‐term and working‐memory performance associated with positive affect, which they measured indirectly, without explicit self‐report of mood (Isen & Erez, , discuss the assessment of implicit manipulation checks). In sum: The work of Isen and colleagues suggests that indirect (implicit) inductions of positive affect suffice to facilitate cognitive performance.…”