In the present study we test the hypothesis that affective state underlies the effect of mood congruence in autobiographical recall. Forty-five participants were subjected to negative and neutral mood inductions, and then asked to recall one personal memory. We also introduced another negative mood condition in which participants
were exposed to the same mood inducing material (i.e., pictures), but were supposed to feel a less intense affective state. We replicated the congruence effect between the mood inductions and the valence of the participants’ recalled memories. Furthermore, mood congruence was influenced by the intensity of negative mood inductions. Although the participants in negative mood conditions were exposed to the same semantic material, the recalled memories
were more negative in standard (strong) than in moderate negative mood condition. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by mood, as measured by the self-report questionnaire. The results suggest that affect influences the mood congruence effect in a way that cannot be explained by semantic priming alone
