When working memory is in a mood: Combined effects of induced affect and processing of emotional words

It is already well established that the working memory system can be influenced by moods or emotional stimuli. However, the exact combined impact of these two on the performance of working memory remains a puzzle. To examine the effect that the emotional content of stimuli has on working memory performance, 90 participants performed a 2-back task with emotional content (positive, neutral, and negative words) when they were in a positive, neutral, or negative mood. Repeated-measures ANOVA with mood as between-subjects factor and emotional load as within-subjects factor revealed a main effect of emotional content for both performance accuracy and reaction times in a 2-back task, and a main effect of mood for performance accuracy. Participants reacted significantly faster to negative words independently of their mood state. They were significantly more accurate when they were in the positive mood, but when they processed positive words they were less accurate. Additionally, to test whether loading the working memory system can reset the combined effect of mood and emotional stimuli, we measured the participants’ mood before and after they performed the n-back task; this revealed a significant effect of the n-back task on the mood. Together, these results suggest that although mood and emotional content do have a robust effect on working memory, in some instances combining them does not heighten their individual effects. Moreover, the results also show that participants might be easily distracted from moods by simply performing an n-back task.