Distortion in Memory for Emotions: The Contributions of Personality and Post-Event Knowledge

Abstract

Undergraduates (N = 189) rated their test anxiety and emotions immediately before a midterm examination and recalled those feelings 1 week later. Students who learned they had done well on the exam underestimated, and those who learned they had done poorly overestimated, pre-exam test anxiety. Personality traits and emotional states together predicted memory distortion. Specifically, traits predicted the intensity of pre-exam states, such as test anxiety, which in turn predicted later distortion in recalling pre-exam negative and positive emotions. Also, students with positive personality traits were particularly likely to be influenced by current feelings when recalling test anxiety. Overestimating pre-midterm test anxiety predicted intentions to study more as well as feelings of unpleasantness just prior to the final exam.