Dimensions of Mood in Mood-Dependent Memory

In this investigation of the roles of 2 different dimensions of mood (pleasantness and arousal) in mood-dependent memory (MDM), participants generated words while listening to a selection of independently rated mood music (normative study and Experiment 5). Then they recalled the words while listening to another mood-music selection (Experiments 1-3) or to a verbal-mood scenario (Experiment 4). Changing only the dimension of mood pleasantness from generation to recall decreased memory whether the intended moods were explicitly defined or not. However, changing only arousal decreased memory only when moods were defined. Thus, pleasantness-dependent memory, but not arousal-dependent memory, occurred consistently. Although MDM also occurred with simultaneous changes in both dimensions, the effect was not significantly greater than that of pleasantness-dependent memory. The results are discussed in terms of 2-dimensional theories of emotion as applied to memory.