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<p>Negative emotion is known to reduce false memories based on semantic associations, yet its influence on action-based memory distortions that depend on embodied processes remains poorly understood. The present research investigated whether negative emotion attenuates the observation–inflation effect, the tendency to misremember observed actions as self-performed, and whether this reduction is associated with weakened action simulation. In Experiment 1, participants completed an ecologically valid observation–inflation task after either a negative emotion induction or an emotionally neutral control procedure. Negative emotion decreased the likelihood of misattributing observed actions to oneself, suggesting a selective reduction in observation-related self-attribution rather than a general response bias. Experiment 2 examined the proposed simulation mechanism under negative emotion. All participants underwent a negative emotion induction and then completed either action-simulation training or a matched control task before observation. Despite comparable negative affect across groups, participants who received simulation training showed a greater observation–inflation effect than controls. Together, these findings suggest that negative emotion may reduce observation-based false memory by weakening action simulation, whereas enhancing simulation can increase such distortions even in a negative emotional context. This work highlights a sensorimotor pathway through which emotional states shape episodic memory for actions.</p>

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Frozen mirrors: Negative emotion disrupts the simulation system that creates the sense of doing

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月22日

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  • Yaqi Yue,
  • Lu Zhang,
  • Yufen Zhao,
  • Shaoyu Gao

摘要

Negative emotion is known to reduce false memories based on semantic associations, yet its influence on action-based memory distortions that depend on embodied processes remains poorly understood. The present research investigated whether negative emotion attenuates the observation–inflation effect, the tendency to misremember observed actions as self-performed, and whether this reduction is associated with weakened action simulation. In Experiment 1, participants completed an ecologically valid observation–inflation task after either a negative emotion induction or an emotionally neutral control procedure. Negative emotion decreased the likelihood of misattributing observed actions to oneself, suggesting a selective reduction in observation-related self-attribution rather than a general response bias. Experiment 2 examined the proposed simulation mechanism under negative emotion. All participants underwent a negative emotion induction and then completed either action-simulation training or a matched control task before observation. Despite comparable negative affect across groups, participants who received simulation training showed a greater observation–inflation effect than controls. Together, these findings suggest that negative emotion may reduce observation-based false memory by weakening action simulation, whereas enhancing simulation can increase such distortions even in a negative emotional context. This work highlights a sensorimotor pathway through which emotional states shape episodic memory for actions.