The Relationship Between Memories And Emotions Research (Essay Sample)

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEMORIES AND EMOTIONS
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The Relationship between Memories and Emotions
The notion that the past significantly determines who we are at present is in its entirety factual and one with basis. Rapaport (1943, 234), argues that an individual’s current state of emotions is a direct consequence of the manner in which they both deliberately and unconsciously choose to deal and handle their memories. Only through an in-depth comprehension of a person’s memories can they authoritatively dictate and control the type of emotions that they experience in the present. Prudence and logic dictate that for peace, comfort and tranquility to reign supreme in an individual’s mind, it is mandatory that they establish complete dominance over their memories (Parrott and Spackman, 2000, 474).An individual’s memories wield immense power over their current emotional state. Studies by psychologists have unearthed concrete links between memories and present emotional states of people. Memories have been found to significantly influence the tendencies of individuals to overwhelmingly experience a wide array of either pleasant or unpleasant emotional feelings.
The type of effect that any explicit memory has on the current emotional state of a person is significantly dependent on the positivity or negativity attached to that particular memory (Bower, Monteiro and Gilligan, 1978, 581).Positive memories directly reciprocate to an overflow of pleasant emotions and vice-versa. The subsequent failure to keep horrific memories in check can have far-reaching repercussions on the emotional stability of a person. Cahill et al. (1994,702), explains that the sudden recall of a particular past sad memory that coincidentally resonates with a prior bitter memory can result in the reconstruction of the bitter scenario in the mind of an individual; consequently predisposing the person to re-live the whole ordeal all over again. Tromp et al. (1995, 615) vividly elaborate that survivors of prior incidents of rape are always susceptible to emotional breakdowns mostly characterized by feelings of anger or hatred whenever memories of that particular event are triggered unconsciously in their minds. Majority of emotions that are triggered by memories are in most cases not as intense as those in real-life experiences.
Memories have the power to trigger and heighten emotions in the same manner emotions trigger cognitions in individuals (Rimmele et al., 2003, 2487). The ability of the mind to summon and reconstruct various memories that significantly influence the current emotions of an individual is a phenomenon that still necessitates for further research. In the quest to attain an in-depth comprehension on the various ways in which memories affect the present emotional stability of a person. It is of paramount importance to note that the intensity in which unpleasant memories reoccur is higher compared to those that evoke positive emotions in a person (Cahill et al., 1994, 703).A huge majority of emotional memories are as a consequence of cued recalls. Parrott and Spackman (2000, 487), explains that most valuables are not necessarily cherished for their monetary value but rather for their ability to induce reminiscence emotions by aiding in the reconstruction of memories which consequently trigger various emotional responses. The end of most relationships is often characterized by the disposal of vestiges of t...