Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33090935›Full record

ArticlePsychological science2020

Positive Affect Is Associated With Less Memory Decline: Evidence From a 9-Year Longitudinal Study.

Emily F Hittner, Jacquelyn E Stephens, Nicholas A Turiano, Denis Gerstorf, Margie E Lachman, Claudia M Haase

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychological science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. [Modifiable risk and protective factors for dementia: an overview of established and emerging evidence].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026
    Review
  5. Wellbeing trajectories and dementia risk among Mexican-origin adults living in the U.S.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2026
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Patterns of Perceived Control That Buffer Against Cognitive Decline in Midlife and Old Age.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Personality traits moderate associations between word recall and subjective memory.Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition · 2024
    Article
  19. Correlates of SuperAging in Two Population-Based Samples of Hispanic Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Emily F HittnerSchool of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University.ORCID 0000-0002-0024-5089
Jacquelyn E StephensSchool of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University.
Nicholas A TurianoDepartment of Psychology, West Virginia University.
Denis GerstorfDepartment of Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin.
Margie E LachmanDepartment of Psychology, Brandeis University.
Claudia M HaaseSchool of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University.

Funding

West Virginia IDEA-CTRU54GM104942 · NIGMS · WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY · PI Sally Lynn Hodder · 2012 to 2026
$81.0M
U19 MIDlife in the United States-Diversity Supplement-WellsU19AG051426 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI CHRISTOPHER L COE · 2016 to 2026
$74.8M
STATISTICS COREP01AG020166 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI RYFF, CAROL D. · 2002 to 2015
$50.6M
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG020166NIA NIH HHS U19 AG051426NIGMS NIH HHS U54 GM104942
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Memory decline is a concern for aging populations across the globe. Positive affect plays an important role in healthy aging, but its link with memory decline has remained unclear. In the present study, we examined associations between positive affect (i.e., feeling enthusiastic, attentive, proud, active) and memory (i.e., immediate and delayed recall), drawing from a 9-year longitudinal study of a national sample of 991 middle-age and older U.S. adults. Results revealed that positive affect was associated with less memory decline across 9 years when analyses controlled for age, gender, education, depression, negative affect, and extraversion. Findings generalized across another measure that assessed additional facets of positive affect, across different (but not all) facets of positive affect and memory, and across age, gender, and education; findings did not emerge for negative affect. Reverse longitudinal associations between memory and positive affect were not significant. Possible pathways linking positive affect and memory functioning are discussed.

Indexed as

AgingExtraversion, PsychologicalAdultAgedEducational StatusHumansLongitudinal StudiesMemory DisordersMiddle Agedcognitive agingmemoryMidlife in the United States (MIDUS)open datapositive affect

Identifiers

PMID33090935
PMCPMC7797593

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.