Remembering past emotions: The role of current appraisals

A week after the televised announcement of the verdict in the criminal trial of Mr Orenthal James (O. J.) Simpson, participants were asked to describe their emotional reactions and their appraisals when they first learned of the verdict. After a delay of 2 months, and again after more than a year, participants recalled their initial emotional reactions and described their current appraisals of the verdict. After 2 months, the more participants' appraisals of Mr Simpson's innocence or guilt changed, the less stable were their memories for the intensities of happiness and anger. After 2 months, and after more than a year, systematic changes in memory for happiness, anger, and surprise were found in directions consistent with current appraisals. Findings replicate and extend the findings of Levine (1997) and suggest that memories for emotional responses are partially reconstructed based on current appraisals of events. (Original abstract)