THE FACILITATORY EFFECTS OF INDUCED CONTENTMENT ON WORKING MEMORY

Abstract

While there are indications that the attributes of contentment, most notably an increased sense of control and mindfulness, lead contentment to enhance controlled processing, there is no existing empirical evidence to support this. Furthermore, the study of the effects of positive affect on controlled processing has resulted in mixed findings. In this study, we examined the effects of induced contentment on working memory, compared to induced amusement and neutral state. Participants either described something that they were contented with, amused with, or a neutral routine chore, before completing an operation span task, as a measure of working memory. The results revealed that the contentment group had better working memory performance than the amusement group and neutral group, while there was no difference in performance between the amusement group and neutral group. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed and following which, suggestions for future research are proposed.