Happy people less likely to experience memory decline
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 31-10-2020
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In the final two assessments, participants also completed tests of memory performance. These tests consisted of recalling words immediately after their presentation and again 15 minutes later. The researchers examined the association between positive affect and memory decline, accounting for age, gender, education, depression, negative affect, and extraversion.
"Our findings showed that memory declined with age," said study senior author Claudia Haase, an associate professor at Northwestern University. "However, individuals with higher levels of positive affect had a less steep memory decline over the course of almost a decade," added Emily Hittner, a PhD graduate of Northwestern University and the paper's lead author.
Areas of future research might address the pathways that could connect positive affect and memory, such as physical health or social relationships, the study noted.