Mood-Congruent Memory
This is a very fascinating concept that I learned in PSYCH101.
when you are sad, it is easier to recall the sad memory of your dog’s death than the happy moment you received the dog.
Mood-congruent memory is the tendency to recall memories similar in valence to our current mood is known as mood-congruent memory
The mood we were in when the memory was recorded becomes a retrieval cue; our present mood primes these congruent memories, making them come to mind more easily. Furthermore, because the availability of events in our memory can affect their perceived frequency (availibility heuristic), the biased retrieval of congruent memories can then impact the subsequent judgments we make.
- if you are retrieving many sad memories, you might conclude that you have had a tough, depressing life.