Recollecting the Past: Association of Mood and Personality with Types of Autobiographical Memories

This study explored the impact of induced mood (positive and negative) and personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) on the characteristics of autobiographical memories (AMs), specifically their type (specific, generic) and visual perspective (field, observer). Thirty participants (18-20 years old) were randomly allocated to positive mood, negative mood, or control conditions. Mood induction utilized video stimuli, with affect measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Personality was assessed using the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Autobiographical memories, elicited through a subjective recall task, were categorized via content analysis. Results indicated that positive mood was associated with a higher frequency of generic and field memories, whereas negative mood correlated with more specific and field memories. Extraversion significantly negatively correlated with observer memories in the positive mood condition and positively correlated with specific and observer memories in the negative mood condition. These findings highlight the intricate relationship between transient affective states and enduring personality dispositions in shaping AM retrieval.