ABSTRACT AMY VITELL: The Effect of Mood on Short Term Memory
Eighty-four undergraduate students (13 males and 71 females) from the University of Mississippi were tested on the effect of mood on short term memory. The participants, with a mean age of 19, were made up of 61 Caucasians, 21 African American, and 2 Asians. The participants took part in a free recall task involving 25 neutral words. Next, a film clip was shown to induce a particular mood (either positive or negative, depending on assigned condition). Following the mood manipulation the participants took part in a second recall task involving another set of 25 neutral words. Data analysis revealed that after the mood manipulation participants in the positive mood condition recalled more words while participants in the negative mood condition recalled fewer words
