Individuals with Dysphoria Judge Negative Information to be More Recallable than Positive Information: Evidence for Emotional Salience Effect

Emotional items are judged as more likely to be recalled than neutral items, with no discernible difference between negative and positive items. Individual differences influence memory monitoring of emotional information. This study examined differences in memory monitoring between negative and positive items in individuals with depression. When items of the same emotional valence were presented consecutively, judgments of learning (JOLs) for negative items were higher in depressed individuals than for items of other emotional valences. The emotional salience effect was specific to depressed individuals. Further research is necessary to identify the factors that reduce this effect in depression.