Positive affect and its relationship to free recall memory performance in a sample of older Dutch adults from the Maastricht Aging Study.

OBJECTIVE A Dutch translation of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) was used to measure Positive Affect (PA) and its relationship to episodic memory in a sample of Dutch adults between the ages of 40 to 82 years. Specifically, the role of PA was examined as a predictor of performance on a serial list learning task that included a recognition and free recall component. METHODS Participants were divided into two age groupings representing middle-age (40 to 64 years) and older (65 to 82 years) adults with respect to the study sample. RESULTS PA was not related to recognition performance in either age grouping. In the older age group, however, PA predicted free recall. CONCLUSIONS PA facilitated episodic memory in older adults when unsupported tasks conditions were present that placed heavy demands on processing resources.