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An Optimistic Outlook Creates a Rosy Past: The Impact of Episodic Simulation on Subsequent Memory.

ABSTRACT: People frequently engage in future thinking in everyday life, but it is unknown how simulating an event in advance changes how that event is remembered once it takes place. To initiate study of this important topic, we conducted two experiments in which participants simulated emotional events before learning the hypothetical outcome of each event via narratives. Memory was assessed for emotional details contained in those narratives. Positive simulation resulted in a liberal response bias for positive information and a conservative bias for negative information. Events preceded by positive simulation were considered more favorably in retrospect. In contrast, negative simulation had no impact on subsequent memory. Results were similar across an immediate and delayed memory test and for past and future simulation. These results provide novel insights into the cognitive consequences of episodic future simulation and build on the optimism-bias literature by showing that adopting a favorable outlook results in a rosy memory.

SUBMITTER: Devitt AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5993572 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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An Optimistic Outlook Creates a Rosy Past: The Impact of Episodic Simulation on Subsequent Memory.

Devitt Aleea L AL Schacter Daniel L DL

Psychological science 20180412 6

People frequently engage in future thinking in everyday life, but it is unknown how simulating an event in advance changes how that event is remembered once it takes place. To initiate study of this important topic, we conducted two experiments in which participants simulated emotional events before learning the hypothetical outcome of each event via narratives. Memory was assessed for emotional details contained in those narratives. Positive simulation resulted in a liberal response bias for po ...[more]

PMID: 29648928

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Project description:OBJECTIVEFew have characterized cognitive changes with age as a function of menopausal stage relative to men, or sex differences in components of memory in early midlife. The study aim was to investigate variation in memory function in early midlife as a function of sex, sex steroid hormones, and reproductive status.METHODSA total of 212 men and women aged 45 to 55 were selected for this cross-sectional study from a prenatal cohort of pregnancies whose mothers were originally recruited in 1959 to 1966. They underwent clinical and cognitive testing and hormonal assessments of menopause status. Multivariate general linear models for multiple memory outcomes were used to test hypotheses controlling for potential confounders. Episodic memory, executive function, semantic processing, and estimated verbal intelligence were assessed. Associative memory and episodic verbal memory were assessed using Face-Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME) and Selective Reminding Test (SRT), given increased sensitivity to detecting early cognitive decline. Impacts of sex and reproductive stage on performance were tested.RESULTSWomen outperformed men on all memory measures including FNAME (??=?-0.30, P < 0.0001) and SRT (??=?-0.29, P?<?0.0001). Furthermore, premenopausal and perimenopausal women outperformed postmenopausal women on FNAME (initial learning, ?= 0.32, P?=?0.01) and SRT (recall, ?= 2.39, P?=?0.02). Across all women, higher estradiol was associated with better SRT performance (recall, ??=?1.96, P?=?0.01) and marginally associated with FNAME (initial learning, ??=?0.19, P?=?0.06).CONCLUSIONSThis study demonstrated that, in early midlife, women outperformed age-matched men across all memory measures, but sex differences were attenuated for postmenopausal women. Initial learning and memory retrieval were particularly vulnerable, whereas memory consolidation and storage were preserved. Findings underscore the significance of the decline in ovarian estradiol production in midlife and its role in shaping memory function.

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An Optimistic Outlook Creates a Rosy Past: The Impact of Episodic Simulation on Subsequent Memory.

Publications

An Optimistic Outlook Creates a Rosy Past: The Impact of Episodic Simulation on Subsequent Memory.

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