Effect of Good and Bad Memories on Attitude and Emotion

Memories involve the ability of the mind to preserve and remember the experiences that occurred previously. Memories are experienced differently, and they can either be good or bad, depending on the experience faced by an individual. The types of memory have various effects on how one perceives something or someone and also on their emotional aspects. Individuals cherish memories because of different reasons, but sometimes those memories that seem good at some point tend to be the worst enemies of that particular individual. Good memories tend to bring about a positive attitude and sweet emotions, whereas the bad ones impact bad attitudes and emotions. It also determines the decisions made by an individual, and emotions also determine their perception of items or other people. Bad memories bring anger, fear, and sadness in a person, and this person will tend to be depressed over small issues that can be easily handled. Such people are hard to deal with, and their decision is usually based on anger. It is upon an individual to decide the kind of memories he wants to preserve because no one can control their thinking on some experiences. Those people who want to embrace positivity in their attitudes and emotions tend to cherish positive memories that promote good thinking. Whereas these who do not see anything good about life love to keep the bad memories which make it difficult to interact with others. Because memories play an important role in determining the attitude and emotions of an individual, it is, therefore, essential to research these effects.

Positive Memories

Good memories tend to bring about joy and happiness in an individual. It implies that a person will have a good attitude towards other people or something. Positive feelings will be enhanced meaning that the person will make sound decisions concerning a particular issue. Happiness and joy create a good relationship among individuals who tends to encourage one another continuously. Through the encouragements, positivity is created in that various aspects of life will be viewed from an advantageous angle. People will tend to have an interest one another in that they will interact and communicate well with one another (Nash, p.892). When individuals interact and converse, they promote a positive attitude not only among themselves but also with other people and toward other things in life. The decisions that one will make will be sound, and it will promote positive feelings. It is also essential to understand that one will not be too hasty to decide on something. Instead, he will take time to determine the best thing that does not negatively affect the actual person and those around. The decision will be beneficial to every individual because someone with good memories thinks of the best about others. Someone will view something from a positive perspective of life. Seeing the good in an individual is vital because it brings about a mutual agreement. Happiness is a crucial factor, and it enhances love and understanding among individuals.

Good deeds and contentment are also brought about by having good memories because one will have a positive attitude towards doing something that makes him comfortable. One will not keep on complaining over petty matters, but instead, they will be satisfied with what they have at the moment. They will have an appreciative attitude in that they will be thankful for any small thing that makes them happy. Good feelings and emotions are enhanced by good thinking. When one brings back the good memories of their life, they feel great as they think through it, and they get motivated in life. The individual feel proud of themselves and appreciate who they are and where they originate. There is a higher likelihood than those people who recognize who they are tend to be happy, and they also ensure that other people are also happy as well. Positive memories take one through a moment of thinking about the wellbeing of others. One does not have an evil thought about others, but instead, their goodness prevails. A feeling of togetherness is created in that people work together as a group as they share ideas and opinions rather than working separately as strangers.

Negative Memories

Several psychology researchers have tried to explain how positive and negative memories affect decision and attitude about a place or towards someone. The first part of the essay primarily talked about how positive memories affect an individual perspective and decision about a situation or towards someone. The second part of this essay wills majorly discusses how negative memories affect personal minds and attitudes about someone or towards a place. Daniel Kahneman, one of the most psychology researchers with vast publications on psychological research. In his writing, Daniel mainly talks about how memories can be so different (Kahneman, et al, p.39). Daniel says that an individual can have a good memory about a place, but any lousy habit ruin the best memory while on the other hand, a right mind that is followed by an unpleasant situation leads better attitude in some people. Daniel uses consumer relationship to explain how memories and experience can affect our memories differently. He says that an individual can decide to go for a vacation and later visit one of the prestigious hotels in the area. Upon reaching the hotel, they find a proper table, excellent services including dinner but a spill of coffee lead to the different development of attitude towards the hotel differently among individuals. When a spill of hot coffee destroys someone’s expensive dress or burn their legs, this people may end up having a negative attitude towards the hotel because of the bad memories that they got and never consider the best experience they ever heard. Through this, it is worth noting that the decisions that we make are mostly based on the memories that we get and not the experience.

There are several effects of negative memories in an individual. Some of the impacts of negative memories include; anger, fear anxiety, sadness, and depression, and these effects can affect the decision that an individual makes. Memories such as sadness may significantly affect an individual decision to repeat whatever they are doing or attitude towards an individual. In a case where hot coffee spills on someone’s expensive cloth and they keep the memory of being sad, there are low chances that the person will make a decision to go back to the hotel in future. The memory of sadness may make an individual develop a negative attitude toward the hotel attendant who spilled on the hot coffee. In general, negative memories may make us narrow our thoughts and make a different consideration towards our next move. Most pieces of literature say that the psychological presence of experience lasts for only three seconds which is a short time and cannot affect an individual decision or attitude (Heukelom, p.130). On the other hand, the findings reveal that memories last for more than a fortnight in the mind of any individual. For this reason, memories are likely to affect an individual long term decision making and attitude towards people and places. Research also shows that the presence of negative thoughts is last longer that the strength of negative feelings in the mind of an individual. This study is significant for marketing companies or any other company that mainly rely on consumers. Irrespective of the good memories that a person can have on a given brand, their decision and attitude can change if they only get a single negative mind about the given brand.

Conclusion

Both negative and positive memory plays a more significant part in the decisions we make and the attitude that we develop towards people. The essay has analyzed how both negative and positive memories can lead to individual decision making and reaction towards people and places. The study found out that there are several positive memories which include; joy, commitment, interest, engagement, and pride. The study, therefore, concluded that memory of these factors might make a person decide to carry out a particular activity more often or develop a liking attitude towards an individual. On the other hand, the study found out that there are many negative memories which include; anger, fear, anxiety, sadness, and depression. This memory can make a person make a decision not to visit or use something for another time. They may also develop a disliking attitude towards people who make them have these memories.

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