Positive Attenuation of Autobiographical Memories in Depressed Mood: The Influence of Time and Positive Emotion Regulation

Minimization of positive emotions in response to positive experiences (i.e., positive attenuation) may contribute to the onset and maintenance of depression. When in a sad mood, individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms benefit initially from recalling positive autobiographical memory. However, this effect may dissipate more quickly in such individuals due to the way they regulate their positive emotions. I examined whether the benefit of recalling positive autobiographical memories declined more over time in individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms and whether different emotion-regulation strategies underlie this difference. To this end, I recruited a sample of 107 participants with high (i.e., high dysphoric group; n = 47) and low levels (i.e., low dysphoric group; n = 60) of depressive symptoms. To examine the mechanism underlying unsuccessful mood repair in individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms, participants were instructed to recall positive autobiographical memories after a sad-mood induction and were assigned randomly to dampen or to ruminate positively on their positive emotions. The participants’ positive emotions were repeatedly assessed to elucidate whether the benefit of recalling positive autobiographical memory on positive emotions decays with time differentially in the high versus low dysphoric group. Consistent with the hypotheses, recalling positive autobiographical memories after a sad-mood induction elevated positive emotions for all participants. Further, the level of positive emotions increased following positive rumination and decreased following dampening in all participants. However, unlike the low dysphoric group that exhibited an increase in their positive emotions immediately, positive emotions increased only after engaging in positive rumination 1 minute longer than in the high dysphoric group. Inconsistent with the hypothesis, dampening did not decrease the level of positive emotions more in the high (vs. low) dysphoric group. In general, engaging in positive rumination on the recalled positive autobiographical memories may be helpful in mood repair even in individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms.