When we talked about emotions effecting memories in class, it really stuck with me. I didn’t realize that this actually had a name, mood congruence. This phenomenon is described as mood having a direct effect on memories able to be retrieved. In the past, I have noticed that when I am in a bad mood or feeling particularly negative I can only remember negative memories. Ones where I knocked on the rugby ball in and important game, missing tackles, failing exams and quizzes. I get stuck in a rut of perpetual negativity. But once I get back to a happy and positive mood all of the types of memories change. They go back to when I scored a winning try in a game, got A’s on exams, having great adventures with my friends. My mood and the outside world directly effect which memories I’m able to access. Some of these are mood dependent memories, where I can recall memories depending on my mood, but some of these are mood congruent where it is easier to recall memories when I feel a similar way to how I felt when the memory developed. Emotions effect memories greatly and can effect how many and which are able to be retrieved. This is something I have to keep in mind in the future as some memories may continue to put me down on hard days and I have to remember that they are temporary and only feel so prevalent because of my current mood.