Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017) 194–199

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Personality and Individual Differences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Need satisfaction in episodic memories impacts mood at retrieval andwell-being over time
Iliane Houle ⁎, &, Frederick L. Philippe
University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada

a r t i c l e

i n f oArticle history:
Received 12 July 2016
Received in revised form 26 September 2016
Accepted 30 September 2016
Available online 3 October 2016
Keywords:
Episodic memories
Mood
Well-being
Need satisfaction
Self-determination theorya b s t r a c t
Recalling important episodic memories inﬂuences mood, notably through their level of need satisfaction. Moreover, as those memories are repeatedly recalled, their repetitive impact on mood should lead to changes in wellbeing over time. Thus, need satisfaction in memories with the greatest impact on mood when recalled shouldhave the greatest impact on well-being over time. Participants rated their mood and general well-being, andwere assigned to describe a positive or negative memory. They rated their memory valence and need satisfaction,and reevaluated their mood. Three months later, participants reassessed their well-being. In both conditions,memory need satisfaction predicted an increase in positive mood after the memory description and an increase
in well-being over time. However, the greater the increase in positive mood upon the recall, the more need satisfaction led to increases in well-being. When mood decreased, need satisfaction did not predict increases in wellbeing. These results suggest that need satisfaction in memories that lead to signiﬁcant increases in mood whenrecalled facilitates well-being.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

1.1. Episodic memories and mood

Important episodic memories are mostly about signiﬁcant and emotionally charged past events (Philippe, Koestner, Beaulieu-Pelletier,
Lecours, and Lekes, 2012; Tulving, 2002). In addition, whenever they
are recalled, they lead to a re-experience in the here and now of their associated experiential components (i.e., emotional charge, motivational
properties) (Conway and Pleydell-Pearce, 2000; LeDoux, 1992;
Schwartz, Weinberger, and Singer, 1981). Past research has shownthat this re-experience can affect situational well-being and current
mood (Josephson, Singer, and Salovey, 1996; Philippe et al., 2012). Furthermore, episodic memories have been found to inﬂuence people's stable sense of well-being over time (Milyavskaya, Philippe, and Koestner,
2013; Philippe et al., 2012; Sutin and Robins, 2005). A growing amountof studies have been reported on how memories can inﬂuence people's
mood, but little has been done in regard to the processes through whichmemories can inﬂuence well-being over time. The purpose of the present research was to investigate if memories that have the greatest impact on mood upon recall are the ones that affect the most well-being
over time.

Episodic memories can be activated and recalled in everyday life
through different processes. They can be consciously and deliberately
recalled: for example, a person can intentionally decide to remembera speciﬁc memory and describe it to someone. However, episodic memories are also often activated by external cues in the environment. Thisoccurs when certain characteristics of the environment match thememory of an event presenting similar characteristics, such as a same
location or a same person (e.g., Ferguson and Bargh, 2004). When amemory is activated by external cues, it does not necessarily lead toan experience of conscious reminiscence (Conway and PleydellPearce, 2000). Memory activation can be automatic and unconscious,
but it will nevertheless inﬂuence the person in the situation that triggered that memory.
The deliberate recall of an episodic memory, as well as its unconscious activation, have been found to alter mood. A well-known memory component that can greatly inﬂuence mood upon memory
recollection is the valence of the memory. Indeed, past research has
shown that positive memories can be recalled, deliberately or automatically, as a way to repair negative mood (Josephson et al., 1996;
Joormann, Siemer, and Gotlib, 2007; Parrott and Sabini, 1990).
Gillihan, Kessler, and Farah (2007) showed that participants (n =326) who were randomly assigned to recall positive episodic memories
reported a signiﬁcantly greater mood after memory recollection thanparticipants who were randomly assigned to recall negative memories.
In another study (Baker and Guttfreund, 1993), 80 community college
students rated their negative mood, were randomly assigned to think⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at
Montreal, P.O Box 8888, Station Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 3P8
E-mail address: houle.iliane@courrier.uqam.ca (I. Houle).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.09.059
0191-8869/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

I. Houle, F.L. Philippe / Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017) 194–199

of two positive or two negative memories, and ﬁnally rated their negative mood again. Participants who recalled negative memories reported
an increase in their negative mood after the recall, whereas participants
who recalled positive memories reported a negative mood decrease.
Thus, the recall of a memory can lead individuals to experience a change
in their mood, as a function of the valence characterizing this memory.
1.2. Need satisfaction in episodic memories
Past research (e.g., Philippe, Koestner, Beaulieu-Pelletier & Lecours,
2011b) has also found that another important basic experiential component of episodic memories, that is also triggered when the memory is
activated, is the level of psychological need satisfaction experienced
during the initial event of the memory. Self-determination theory(Deci and Ryan, 2000) posits that people continually seek to fulﬁll
three basic psychological needs in their everyday life, which are needs
for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy is the need tofeel free and authentic in one's choices and actions, competence is theneed to feel efﬁcient and effective, and relatedness is the need to feel
connected and to care for others, as well as being cared for by others.
Many studies have conﬁrmed the fundamental nature of these threeneeds across diverse domains and cultures (Deci et al., 2001; Sheldon,
Elliot, Kim, and Kasser, 2001; Tay and Diener, 2011). Moreover, the satisfaction of the needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in life
is positively associated with diverse dimensions of well-being, such as
psychological growth, life satisfaction, and purpose in life (Reis,
Sheldon, Gable, Roscoe, and Ryan, 2000; Sheldon, Ryan, and Reis,
1996; Tay and Diener, 2011).
Because of its fundamental importance, the level of need satisfaction
characterizing a memory should affect, upon its activation, people'smood and well-being accordingly (Philippe et al., 2011b; Philippe,
Koestner, Lecours, Beaulieu-Pelletier, and Bois, 2011a; Philippe et al.,2012). Indeed, the recall of a need-satisfying memory should signal possibilities for psychological growth and opportunities to build and expand the self (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Hodgins and Knee, 2002), andthus should lead to greater positive mood and well-being. Conversely,
the recall of a need-thwarting memory should signal a potential threat
to the person's self and integrity (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Hodgins andKnee, 2002), which should be conducive to a lower positive mood andlower well-being.
However, one could argue that the level of need satisfaction characterizing an episodic memory and the valence of this memory represent
basically the same memory component, and that a negative memory
should be characterized by need thwarting, whereas a positive memory
should be characterized by need satisfaction. In this regard, investigating the impact of memory need satisfaction on mood would be thesame as investigating the impact of memory valence. However, past research has refuted this assumption and has shown that need satisfaction
and valence are relatively independent aspects of memories. Indeed, acertain level of need satisfaction can be experienced in a negative memory (Philippe et al., 2011b, 2011a; Philippe et al., 2012). For example,
someone can report the memory of a negative event, in which he/she
felt supported by another person after having failed at an importanttask. In this generally negative situation, this person's need of relatedness would have been satisﬁed, whereas his/her need of competence
would have been thwarted. Thus, in negative memories as well as inpositive ones, the level of need satisfaction experienced can be variable
and affect the person accordingly, over and above the effect of the general memory valence.
Empirical evidence also supports this assertion. In a study (Philippe
et al., 2012, Study 3), 151 undergraduates described a signiﬁcant memory and were implicitly primed with this memory two weeks later. Results showed that priming memories characterized by need satisfaction
led to an immediate increase in participants' positive mood, whereas
priming need-thwarting memories led to a decrease in positive mood.
In addition, these results held after controlling for memory valence.

195

Need satisfaction in memories thus seems to be a predictor of moodthat is independent of the valence of memories.
1.3. Episodic memories and well-being over time
It has been recently shown that need satisfaction in episodic memories can not only affect people's mood upon recall, but that it can also induce enduring changes in well-being over time. Indeed, the level ofneed satisfaction characterizing an important memory has been foundto predict increases in well-being over a 1-month period (Milyavskaya
et al., 2013, Study 3), as well as over a 1-year period (Philippe et al.,2012, Study 4). In a recent study, Philippe and Bernard-Desrosiers (inpress, Study 2) contacted 275 university students before the Winter holiday period and measured their well-being. Participants were contacted
again after the holidays: their well-being was measured again and they
were asked to describe the memory of an event that happened during
their holidays. Subsequently, participants' well-being was measured
each month, for three months. Results showed that the need satisfactionin the holiday memory predicted increases in well-being directly after
the holiday period, and continued to predict further increases over the
next two months, thus having a cumulative impact on well-being overtime. In sum, there is empirical evidence supporting the idea that memories' need satisfaction can inﬂuence people's well-being over time.
However, the underlying processes through which this occurs remain
unclear.
One theoretical explanation for this phenomenon is that episodic
memories are frequently and repetitively activated across diverse situations, through conscious recalls, as well as through automatic activation
by external cues. As the activation of a signiﬁcant memory can lead tochanges in mood, we can expect that frequent activations of this memory over time will lead to repetitive changes in mood, and thus to consolidations and stable changes in well-being over time. For instance,
the frequent activations of a need-satisfying memory should lead to repeated situational increases in positive mood, and over these repeatedactivations, this need-satisfying memory should positively affect one's
stable sense of well-being (Adler, Lodi-Smith, Philippe, and Houle,2016; Philippe et al., 2012). Following this reasoning, memories characterized by the greatest level of need satisfaction should lead to thegreatest immediate increase in positive mood upon recall. In addition,
supposedly through their frequent activations over time, need satisfaction in memories with the greatest impact on mood upon recall should
predict the greatest increases in well-being over time.
1.4. Purpose of the present study
The purpose of the present research was to assess the impact of needsatisfaction in a frequently activated memory on situational mood andwell-being over time. Moreover, we investigated if the prospective relationship between need satisfaction and well-being was function of thestrength of the effect of the memory on situational mood.
In this study, participants rated their current positive mood andcompleted a measure of general well-being. Next, they were randomly
assigned to describe a positive or a negative self-deﬁning memory.
Self-deﬁning memories represent an especially important and frequently recalled type of episodic memory (Singer and Salovey, 1993). Participants rated their memory valence and need satisfaction, andreevaluated their positive mood. Three months later, they responded
to the same measure of general well-being again.
In line with past ﬁndings (e.g., Baker and Guttfreund, 1993), it was
hypothesized that describing a positive memory would lead to an increase in positive mood right after the memory description, whereas describing a negative memory would lead to a decrease in positive mood
(Hypothesis 1). Additionally, we hypothesized that need satisfaction
characterizing the memory would predict mood change in both conditions (positive or negative memory description), such that greaterneed satisfaction would predict increases in positive mood, whereas

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I. Houle, F.L. Philippe / Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017) 194–199

greater need thwarting would predict decreases in positive mood (Hypothesis 2). Finally, it was expected that need satisfaction would predict
increases in well-being over a 3-month period, independently of condition assignment at Phase 1. It was also predicted that mood change after
the memory description would moderate the relationship between
need satisfaction and well-being. Speciﬁcally, only memories characterized by need satisfaction that led to a signiﬁcant increase in positivemood at Phase 1 should predict increases in well-being at Phase 2 (Hypothesis 3).
2. Method
2.1. Participants and procedures
The expected effect size was based on a past study by Milyavskaya etal. (2013, Study 3), who found an effect size of f2 = 0.075 for the prediction of need satisfaction in memories on changes in well-being overtime (over a 4-week period). The power analysis suggested a sample
size of 107 participants for multiple regressions with a statisticalpower of 0.80, at an alpha of 0.05. Accordingly, at Phase 1, 158 undergraduate students from a Canadian university were randomly recruitedfrom a list composed of students from various departments. They wererecruited through their university e-mail and invited to take part in astudy about memories and well-being. They completed an online questionnaire in which they rated their current positive mood andresponded to a general well-being measure. They were then randomly
assigned to write about a positive or a negative self-deﬁning memory
and rated this memory for valence and need satisfaction. Next, they
rated their positive mood again. Between three and four months later(M = 3.86 months, SD = 20.77 days),1 participants were contacted
again and completed the same measure of general well-being they
had completed during Phase 1. A total of 118 students took part inthis second phase, for a response rate of 75%. Independent-samples t
tests were conducted to investigate if there were signiﬁcant differences
between participants who responded to the second phase and those
who did not on all study variables. There were no signiﬁcant mean differences. Finally, two participants were excluded from the analyses, as
they were multivariate outliers. Thus, the ﬁnal sample was composedof 116 participants (93 women, 23 men), with a mean age of
29.72 years old, SD = 9.38. As an incentive, participants were enteredinto a draw of three prizes of $125.
2.2. Measures, Phase 1
2.2.1. Pre- and post-description positive mood
Participants were asked to rate their current positive mood on the
single item “Right now, my mood is…”, by positioning a slider button
on a line ranging from very unpleasant to very pleasant. Their rating
was attributed a value between 0 and 100 and was recorded by thecomputer. However, this value was hidden from participants. This
type of scale was used to capture subtle subjective changes in mood.
Two measurement moments were used: (1) at the beginning of Phase
1 and (2) after the description of the self-deﬁning memory.

was computed by averaging all nine items. Cronbach's alpha coefﬁcientfor this scale was 0.67 in this study. This type of well-being measurement was used to avoid any confound with mood, which is a component often included in more hedonic perspective of well-being(Diener et al., 2009).
2.2.3. Self-deﬁning memory
Participants were randomly assigned to describe either a positive or
negative memory using the follow instructions. “Please describe a personal POSITIVE (or NEGATIVE depending on the assigned condition) memory of a speciﬁc event, that is at least six months old, and that is signiﬁcant(important) for you. This memory should reﬂect your identity or who you
are and should reveal something about how you perceive yourself generally. Choose a memory that often comes to your mind. Describe generally
what happened, where it happened, who you were with (if anyone), andhow you and other people reacted. What was your role and what werethe consequences of your reaction and/or your behavior during this event.
Provide enough details so that we can understand what happened, like if
you had to tell it to someone.” Those instructions were adapted from previous studies on self-deﬁning memories (Singer and Salovey, 1993;
Sutin and Robins, 2005; Philippe et al., 2011b, 2011a).
2.2.4. Valence of the memory
Participants were asked to rate their personal valence of the event
described in their self-deﬁning memory on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from −3 (very negative) to +3 (very positive).
2.2.5. Need satisfaction in the memory
Participants rated the level of psychological need satisfaction theyexperienced when the event of their memory occurred. Participants
made their ratings on a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from − 3(strongly disagree) to + 3 (strongly agree), with 0 representing do notagree or disagree or not applicable—this latter option indicating that theevent was both need satisfying and need thwarting, or that need satisfaction was not present in the event. Participants responded to two
items for each of the three psychological needs of self-determination
theory, which are autonomy, competence, and relatedness (for a totalof six items). Sample items include “I felt free to do things and to
think how I wanted” (autonomy), “I felt skillful or capable” (competence), and “I felt connected to one or more people” (relatedness).
These items were used in past research (e.g., Philippe et al., 2011b,
2011a; Philippe et al., 2012). An index of need satisfaction in the memory was computed by averaging all items. Cronbach's alpha coefﬁcient
was 0.91 in the present study.
2.3. Measure, Phase 2
2.3.1. Well-being
The same measure of well-being used at Phase 1 was again administered to participants. Cronbach's alpha coefﬁcient was 0.72 in Phase 2.
3. Results
3.1. Manipulation checks on the experimental conditions

2.2.2. Well-being
A short version of the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB; Ryff andKeyes, 1995) was used to measure well-being. This scale assesses six dimensions of well-being with three items for each dimension. In thepresent study, only three dimensions were used: self-acceptance, purpose in life, and personal growth. The others dimensions (autonomy,
mastery, and relatedness) were not used, as they are very closely related
to the three psychological needs. Each item was rated on a 7-point Likert
scale (1 = disagree strongly, 7 = agree strongly). An index of well-being
1
We examined if the time between the two phases impacted the results. However, theinclusion of this variable in the analyses did not change or moderate the results obtained.

Independent-samples t tests showed that the means of memory valence and need satisfaction were signiﬁcantly higher in the positive
memory condition (valence: M = 2.87, SD = 0.39, need satisfaction:
M = 2.27, SD = 0.72) compared to the negative memory condition (valence: M = −2.15, SD = 1.30, t(114) = 28.84, p b 0.001; need satisfaction: M = −0.99, SD = 1.28, t(114) = 17.12, p b 0.001). These results
conﬁrm that the experimental conditions were successful. Despite thefact that both valence and need satisfaction varied greatly as a functionof conditions, these variables were only weakly correlated in each condition (negative condition: r = 0.15, p = 0.26; positive condition: r =0.34, p = 0.01), thus conﬁrming their relative independence.

I. Houle, F.L. Philippe / Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017) 194–199

197

Table 1
Hierarchical regression analysis of mood pre-description, conditions, memory need satisfaction, and the interaction term memory need-satisfaction × condition on mood post-description.
Mood post-description
Model R2
Step 1
Mood pre-description
Step 2
Conditions (pos = 1; neg = 0)
Step 3
Memory NS
Step 4
Memory NS × condition

B

95% CI

β

t

p

0.79

[0.65, 0.94]

0.71

10.66⁎⁎

0.001
0.001

0.50
0.74
22.99

[18.53, 27.44]

0.50

10.22⁎⁎

5.39[1.74, 9.04]

0.25

2.92⁎⁎

0.001

4.90

[−3.93, 13.74]

0.11

1.10

0.27

0.76
0.76

Note. n = 116, NS = need satisfaction.
⁎⁎ p b 0.01.

3.2. Experimental conditions and changes in mood (Hypothesis 1)
To assess the impact of the experimental conditions (positive or negative memory) on change in mood after the memory description, a 2(Conditions: positive vs. negative) × 2 (Mood: pre-description vs.
post-description) mixed ANOVA with repeated measures on the lastfactor was conducted. Results showed that there was a signiﬁcantmain effect of mood, F(1, 114) = 4.76, p = 0.03, η2p = 0.04, (Pre:M = 64.98, SD = 20.68, Post: M = 61.55, SD = 23.22). Positive moodwas generally lower after the memory description than before. However, there was also a signiﬁcant Conditions × Mood interaction, F(1,114) = 73.43, p b 0.001, η2p = 0.39. Positive mood signiﬁcantly increased in the positive memory condition (Pre: M = 68.26, SD =19.43, Post: M = 76.17, SD = 17.36, t(52) = 4.37, p b 0.001, 95% CI[4.32; 11.49]), whereas it signiﬁcantly decreased in the negative memory condition (Pre: M = 62.13, SD = 21.47, Post: M = 48.82, SD =20.02, t(60) = −7.88, p b 0.001, 95% CI [−16.65; −9.96]). Thus, participants who described a positive memory experienced an increase in
their positive mood right after the memory description, whereas participants who described a negative memory experienced a decrease in
their positive mood.

3.3. Need satisfaction and changes in mood (Hypothesis 2)
To study the impact of need satisfaction on change in positive moodafter the memory description, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted on mood post-description. At Step 1, mood pre-description was entered to control for the initial mood at the beginningof the study. At Step 2, a dummy variable accounting for assigned
conditions—negative memory (0) or positive memory (1)—was included, and at Step 3, need satisfaction in the memory was entered. The interaction term need satisfaction × condition was included at Step 4.
Table 1 shows that at Step 1, mood pre-description was positively related to mood post-description, explaining 50% of its variance. At Step 2,
assigned conditions were positively associated with an increase in positive mood, explaining 24% of its variance, Fchange(1113) = 104.48,
p b 0.001. At Step 3, memory need satisfaction was positively related
to an increase in positive mood, explaining 2% of its variance,
Fchange(1112) = 8.54, p = 0.004. At Step 4, the interaction term needsatisfaction × condition was not signiﬁcant.
The reported effect size for need satisfaction reﬂects its prediction ofmood post-description, for which 50% of its variance is already explained by mood pre-description. The effect size of need satisfaction in
explaining the variance of mood change only (i.e., the difference between post-description and pre-description), after controlling for condition is R2 = 0.03. Overall, both the valence (conditions: positive vs.
negative) and the need satisfaction in the memory were positively
and independently associated with mood change after the memory description. There was no interaction between those two variables, suchthat describing a positive memory led to an increase in positive mood,

whereas describing a negative memory led to a decrease in positive
mood. In addition, greater need satisfaction in the described memory
led to a greater increase in positive mood in both conditions (with theinverse being also true; greater need thwarting led to a greater decreasein positive mood across conditions).2 An alternative explanation forthese results could be that participants who are generally happier andwho reported a greater level of well-being at the beginning of thestudy would generally report greater need satisfaction in their memory,even in a negative one, and thus would experiment a greater increase in
their positive mood after the memory description. However, well-beingat Phase 1 was not associated with memory need satisfaction(r = − 0.11, p = 0.25), and its inclusion in the regression on moodpost-description did not alter the results. Moreover, participants'mood at the beginning of the study was not signiﬁcantly associatedwith memory need satisfaction (r = 0.18, p = 0.06). Thus, this alternative explanation appears to be unlikely.
3.4. Memory, mood change, and well-being (Hypothesis 3)
A hierarchical regression analysis was performed on well-being at
Phase 2 to assess the impact of the experimental conditions and ofmemory need satisfaction on changes in well-being over a 3-month period. In addition, this analysis aimed to test if mood change would act asa moderator in the expected association between memory need satisfaction and the increase in well-being over time. To examine this hypothesis, a score of mood change was computed by subtracting thepositive mood at the beginning of the study (Pre-description) fromthe positive mood after the memory description (Post-description): a
negative score represented a mood decrease after the memory description, while a positive score represented a mood increase.
At Step 1, well-being at Phase 1 was entered, to control for the initiallevel of well-being, and conditions were also included as a dummy
coded variable. At Step 2, memory need satisfaction was included, andat Step 3, the score of mood change was entered. The interaction term
need satisfaction × mood change was entered at Step 4.
Table 2 shows that, at Step 1, well-being at Phase 1 was positively associated with well-being three months later, while experimental conditions were not signiﬁcant. Thus, while being randomly assigned todescribe a positive or a negative memory inﬂuenced participants'mood after their memory description at Phase 1, there was no enduring
impact of conditions on well-being over time. At Step 2, memory needsatisfaction was positively associated with an increase in well-being,
explaining 1% of its variance, Fchange(1112) = 4.99, p = 0.03, and 4% of
its variance of change. Therefore, the level of need satisfaction characterizing the memory described at Phase 1 was associated with a significant increase in well-being over three months. At Step 3, mood change
2This analysis used conditions as a variable to control for assigned conditions at Phase 1.
To assess if the results obtained were due to the dichotomous nature of this variable, thesame analysis was performed with the rated memory valence (ranging from −3 to +3)
at Step 2. Results remained virtually the same.

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I. Houle, F.L. Philippe / Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017) 194–199

Table 2
Hierarchical regression analysis of well-being Phase 1, conditions, memory need satisfaction, mood change, and the interaction term memory need satisfaction × mood change on wellbeing Phase 2.
Well-being, Phase 2
Model R2
Step 1
Well-being, Phase 1
Conditions (pos = 1; neg = 0)
Step 2
Memory NS
Step 3
Mood change
Step 4
Memory NS × mood change

B

95% CI

β

t

p

0.82
0.03

[0.70, 0.94][−0.13, 0.19]

0.79
0.02

13.20⁎⁎
0.39

0.001
0.70

0.15

[0.02, 0.28]

0.24

2.23⁎

0.03

0.03

[−0.10, 0.17]

0.04

0.51

0.61

0.16

[0.06, 0.27]

0.18

3.05⁎⁎

0.003

0.62

0.63
0.63
0.66

Note. n = 116, NS = need satisfaction.
⁎ p b 0.05.
⁎⁎ p b 0.01.

was not associated with well-being at Phase 2. However, at Step 4, theinteraction term need satisfaction × mood change was signiﬁcant andexplained 3% of well-being at Phase 2, Fchange (1110) = 9.32, p =0.003, and 7% of its variance of change.
Probing of this interaction revealed that, for memories that led togreater positive mood increased following the memory description(+ 1 SD), need satisfaction was signiﬁcantly related to an increase inwell-being three months later (t = 3.63, p b 0.001, B = 0.32, 95% CI[0.15; 0.50]). When mood changed moderately (mean level of moodchange) after the memory description, need satisfaction was also associated with an increase in well-being at Phase 2 (t = 2.39, p = 0.02,
B = 0.16, 95% CI [0.03, 0.29]). However, need satisfaction was not associated with an increase in well-being at Phase 2 for memories thatlowered positive mood after memory description (− 1 SD),(t = − 0.04, p = 0.97, B = − 0.003, 95% CI [− 0.17; 0.16]). Overall,these results show that the level of need satisfaction in a memory is associated with changes in well-being over time. However, this memoryneeds to have the capacity to increase the person's mood situationallyfor this effect to occur.
4. Discussion
The purpose of the present research was to investigate if the level ofneed satisfaction characterizing a signiﬁcant episodic memory had an
impact on mood upon memory recall, and on well-being over a 3month period. More importantly, we assessed if the level of change inmood upon memory recall would inﬂuence the impact of need satisfaction in that memory on well-being over time.
Participants who were assigned to describe a positive memory reported an increase in their positive mood after the memory description,
whereas participants in the negative memory condition reported a decrease in their positive mood, thus conﬁrming the impact that remembering a positive or negative memory can have on people's mood. In
this sense, the present ﬁndings have methodological implications, as
they provide additional evidence that the recall of a positive or negative
memory can serve as an effective method to induce changes in people'smood.
In addition, memory need satisfaction was associated with changes
in mood in both conditions. This result demonstrates that need satisfaction in memories can have a situational impact on mood upon recall andinduce increases in positive mood, even for memories of negative
events. Hence, it supports the idea that need satisfaction is a key component of memories that is different and independent from valence. In thisregard, this result contributes to expand our comprehension of episodic
memories and of the way through which they can inﬂuence people in
the here and now and over time. It highlights that the level of need satisfaction experienced in the initial event of a memory is an important
experiential component that is encoded in the memory, and that remains attached to it. The activation of a memory thus also reactivatesthe experienced need satisfaction in the here and now, which inﬂuences
the person's mood accordingly. However, the investigation of need satisfaction in memories is a relatively recent area of research, but seems
like a promising one, as we intended to show in the present paper. It
is our hope that a growing amount of studies will strive to grasp the extent to which need satisfaction in memories can inﬂuence people intheir everyday life and over time.
The present study showed that memory need satisfaction was associated with an increase in well-being three months later, regardless ofcondition assignment at Phase 1. It thus replicated recent studies on
the effect of need satisfaction in memories on well-being over time
(Milyavskaya et al., 2013; Philippe et al., 2012). However, we demonstrated that this association was function of the level of mood change
experienced by participants after the memory description. The more
the activation of the memory led to an increase in positive mood,through the level of need satisfaction characterizing it, the more needsatisfaction predicted an increase in well-being over time. Contrariwise,
if the recall of the memory induced a decrease in positive mood, thenmemory need satisfaction did not predict changes in well-being overtime. This result supports the hypothesis that the repetitive activationof a memory should lead to repetitive increases in positive mood, thatshould in turn lead to consolidations and changes in well-being overtime. However, there is a potential limitation to this interpretation of
our results. The method used in the present study does not allow us toensure that the memories described by participants were truly frequently activated in their everyday lives or not. Future research should
directly address this hypothesized process. For example, a previously
described memory could be activated each day outside of participants'
awareness using a priming method and daily experience samplings ofmood and well-being could be collected. This could directly test if
chronic changes in mood instantiated by activating a need-satisfying
memory build up into stable changes in well-being. Nevertheless, ourstudy is the ﬁrst to investigate the process through which need satisfaction in episodic memories can inﬂuence well-being over time, by proposing that it is through the repetitive situational changes in moodthat need satisfaction can greatly inﬂuence well-being over time.
4.1. Limitations and conclusion
Some other limitations of the present study need to be underscored.
First, the present ﬁndings need to be generalized with caution, as there
were more females than males in our sample. In addition, females might
have been more interested in participating in a study on memory thanmales, thus creating a self-selection bias. The sample was also composedof university students who do not represent the general population.
Therefore, the present results would need to be replicated with amore representative sample before being generalized. Second, thememory valence was imposed to participants, as they were instructed
to describe a positive or a negative memory, according to their assigned

I. Houle, F.L. Philippe / Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017) 194–199

condition. This methodology was used to ensure that an approximately
equal amount of participants would describe either a positive or a negative memory. However, it is possible that some people randomly
assigned to the negative memory condition had in fact more positive
memories that were chronically activated in their everyday life thannegative ones. In consequence, this frequent activation of mostly positive memories should lead to a general increase in well-being overtime. Thus, for these people, their described negative memory could
have a relatively more limited impact on their general well-being compared to people who typically hold more negative chronic memories.
Reverse case scenarios are also possible. Future research is needed to
conﬁrm our results in a design where participants would be free tochoose their memory valence.
In sum, the present study highlights the important impact that needsatisfaction in episodic memories can have on people's situational moodand general well-being over time. It also suggests that the greater theincrease in situational positive mood upon memory recall, the greater
this memory's need satisfaction will lead to an increase in well-being
over time.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council [grant number 435-2012-1358] awarded
to the second author and by a scholarship from the Social Sciencesand Humanities Research Council awarded to the ﬁrst author.
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