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Subscribe to RSSEver wonder why the bad times seem so much easier to remember than the good ones? Scientists may have found the explanation: A new study shows that your memory doesn’t work as well when you’re in a good mood.
“Other studies have found that you have more creativity when you’re in a good mood,” says the study’s lead author, Elizabeth A. Martin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri. “We may have found something that a good mood is bad for.”
At the beginning of the study, Martin and her co-author assessed the moods of 180 college students. Then half the study volunteers were shown a video designed to make them feel good -- 15 minutes from Jerry Seinfeld’s stand up comedy video, “I’m Telling You for the Last Time.” The other half were shown a home improvement video called “How Do I: Flooring,” which explained how to install different types of floor coverings.
After the videos, the volunteers’ moods were assessed once again -- sure enough, the Seinfeld viewers were happier, while the moods of the other volunteers were unchanged.
Next Martin sat her volunteers down and gave them a memory test. They were told they would hear a list of single digit numbers and would then be asked to recall the last six without being told in advance how many numbers would be in the list. Then Martin listed 12 to 20 numbers for the volunteers, with just four seconds between each item.
Martin repeated the test 18 times with each person. And as it turns out, there was a clear difference in the volunteers’ ability to parrot back the numbers: Those who saw the Seinfeld video had a harder time remembering all six.
What is it about a good mood that makes memory bad? Martin isn’t sure, but she’s willing to guess.
The same thing that makes us more creative at these times -- our tendency to focus on many things rather than just one -- may be what makes it hard to remember, she says. Put simply, we’re just a bit more scattered when we’re in a good mood.
The solution is simple. If you know that your memory isn’t going to be as reliable when you’re in a good mood, you can take steps to counter that effect, like writing down people’s phone numbers or consciously associating something important with a new acquaintance’s name.
Do you think you get a little spacier when you're happy?
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What does memory have to do with intelligence? I know plenty of "spacey" people who are extremely intelligent.
Even Albert Einstein couldn't grasp some of the most simple things. I read that he often forgot where he lived.
Memory has little to do with actual intelligence.
My favorite Einstein anecdote goes along the lines of him claiming to never memorize anything he could look up quickly.
I don't remember it exactly, but then again, I'm in a good mood :)
i only remember things if they make me money or give me pleasure like eating donuts
Happily. Ever. After.
Voila!
And all this time I thought it was all the booze I drink, that made me cheerful@forget things.
Jeez, I'm in a good mood today! What was it I was going to post about?
Notice the testing involved memorizing numbers and those that had watched a step-by-step instructional video did better than those that were simply enjoing themselves listening to a comedy routine. Had the test involved questions that were more abstract or non-numeric in nature, it could be that those listening to the Seinfield routine would have scored better than the others.
I'm sorry, I'm dyslexic, so I first read that being forgetful makes you more cheery. Honestly, I think that makes more sense. .... .... Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...
Is it the good mood that makes you forgetful, or is it Seinfeld that makes you stupid. I think this deserves further study.
Honestly I don't see what this proves. Of course someone who watched an instructional video where thought is required will do better on a test performed immediately afterward than someone who watched a video requiring no thought. To me these results seem to be a forgone conclusion and prove nothing about mood affecting memory recall.
Happiness is a choice.... so is smoking trees :) Let's not forget to light up because we are all in great moods today :)
Doesn't work. My husband is almost never in a good mood (my fault, of course) and he doesn't remember anything. Not a pot smoker, either..but he does drink...and I think that definitely does hinder memory. Kills cells. Remember, there are exceptions to every rule, every theory.
“Other studies have found that you have more creativity when you’re in a good mood,” says the study’s lead author, Elizabeth A. Martin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri. “We may have found something that a good mood is bad for.”
I realize I AM in a good mood but this sentence either has a typo or just doesn't make sense to me. How is a "good mood" BAD for creativity? Oh wait, because you have a bad memory during your Good Mood/Good Creativity time and you need a good memory to complete your creativity? Okay I guess that makes sense in an unstated way. I wrote a novel during a 2 week migraine so I can see the correlation - the meds gave me highs/lows (and crazy dreams) and the 2 week migraine certainly made me punchy...Oh S.T. Coleridge I get it now!
I sure hope the idiots who designed this study didn't get any government money for it. Their tests and methodology were tilted toward remembering insignificant minutiae, which watching the "How to" video would sort of prime one for. Seinfeld's stand-up, on the other hand, tends to be of the lighter-than-air variety that tends towards reinforcing the insignificance of much of what goes on around us. The only thing more likely to reduce one's ability to concentrate and focus on remembering might be to smoke two or three joints first.
I'm left wondering how this silly test does anything to benefit or advance the understanding of the human condition.
That's exactly what I got out of it. This is a very unscientific study. They should try again using footage of people laughing vs. people crying or some other more comparable pair.
Did the testers ever think that just maybe, Seinfeld's lame comedy routine made them more stupid, and not in a "good mood".
I know this article does not address intelligence, but I am address those who say memory has nothing to do with intelligence. I don't see how its possible to be intelligent without memory. Look up intelligence in the dictionary, what does it say? It says it is the capacity for learning, understanding and similar forms of mental activity. How do you learn without recalling information from memory? You can't. How do you understand when you can't remember what to understand? You can't. How do you grasp thoughts when you can't remember them? you can't.
What was the article about again?