title: When green is positive and red is negative: Aging and the influence of color on emotional memories.
abstract: Numerous studies have reported age-related differences in memory for emotional information. One explanation places emphasis on an emotion processing preference in older adults that reflects their socioemotional self-relevant goals. Here, we evaluate the degree to which this preference in memory may be modulated by color. In 2 experiments, younger and older adults were asked to study a series of affective words (Experiment 1) or affective pictures (Experiment 2) and then presented with an immediate yes/no memory recognition task. In particular, words and pictures were colored according to the following valence-color associations: positive-green, negative-red, and neutral-blue. Each study condition included both congruent (e.g., positive-green) and incongruent associations (e.g., positive-red). For both experiments, participants showed an advantage for congruent associations compared with other types of valence-color pairings that emphasized a robust joint effect of color and affective valence in memory. More specifically, older adults' memory was sensitive to positive-green stimuli only. We discussed results in line with mechanisms underlying positivity effects in memory and the effect of color on emotional memory encoding. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mammarella
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Domenico
authors.affiliation: Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fairfield
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003116:Color; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult