Chapter 20 - Emotionin Episodic Memory

Summary

This chapter focuses on episodic memory, a form of consciously accessible memory. More specifically, episodic memory refers to memory for a unique event. Episodic memories generally include the content of the event itself, and information on the spatial and temporal context in which the event occurred. The chapter discusses the ways in which emotion interacts with encoding, consolidation, and retrieval processes, focusing on how both the emotional content of an event and the emotional state of the individual can influence memory. Evidence reviewed in the chapter demonstrates that the emotions we experience when an event is occurring can influence the way we encode, consolidate, and retrieve that event. The chapter discusses an example of mood's influence on memory: the mood-congruent recall. It highlights that an emotional memory may be vivid not because lots of different details are remembered, but because a small set of details are remembered very well.