Selective encoding and retrieval of affectively valent information: two cognitive consequences of children's mood states.

Two experiments investigated the selective influences of experimentally induced mood states on children's encoding and retrieval of affectively valent information. Experiment 1 revealed that a happy, compared to a neutral, mood during encoding facilitated recall of positive information; conversely, a sad encoding mood disrupted recall of positive material. A happy mood during retrieval also facilitated recall of positive information, but no other selective effects of retrieval mood occurred. Experiment 2 indicated that the negative mood of anger, like that of sadness, disrupted the encoding of positive information; unlike sadness, however, anger facilitated the encoding of negative material. Again, no selective effects of retrieval mood occurred. Overall the findings indicate that selective encoding and retrieval may contribute to children's cognitive ability to regulate mood states as well as other aspects of social learning and development.