Fading Affect Bias in the Philippines: Confirmation of the FAB in Positive and Negative Memories but Not for Death Memories. Issue 1 (26th August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bond, Gary D.; Walker, W. Richard; Bargo, Ann J. B.; Bansag, Mern J.; Self, Elizabeth A.; Henderson, Dawn X.; Anu, Rose M.; Sum, Lillyanna S.; Alderson, Courtney J.
• Is Part Of: Applied cognitive psychology. Volume 30:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 51
• Page End: 60
• Publication Date: 2015-08-26
• Subjects: Cognition -- Periodicals; Psychology, Applied -- Periodicals; 153
• DOI: 10.1002/acp.3166
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0888-4080

Abstract

Summary: Emotions associated with memories for the loss of a loved one and for negative events in general decrease in intensity more than memories associated with positive events, a phenomenon known as the fading affect bias (FAB). We tested whether FAB was cross‐culturally evident by collecting positive, negative, and memories for the deaths of loved ones from Filipinos. Memories were coded as violent/nonviolent and resolved/unresolved, and we predicted that resolved memories should show greater fading and that affective details should be lower in those memory accounts. FAB analyses revealed that negative affective intensity faded while positive affect remained constant, supporting FAB for positive and negative memories. However, there was no evidence of FAB in Filipinos' death memories. Filipinos' positive memories were distributed from the period of the reminiscence bump and focused on themes of childbirth and marriage, while negative and death memories did not cluster at any period of life.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.