Ease-of-retrieval mediates the relations of negative emotional states and passage of time judgments

Little research has investigated the relations of emotional states and passage of time judgments over a long period and explored the mechanisms underlying the relations. In this research, we conducted three studies (N = 2010 in total) in the three time points throughout a year including the end of 2020, the beginning and middle of 2021. In each study, we measured participants' negative emotional states that arise in daily life (including loneliness, anxiety, and depression), feelings of how easy/hard to recall the things having done in the last year, and yearly passage of time judgments. The results from the three studies consistently showed that individuals' feelings of ease-of-retrieval mediated the relations of negative emotional states and yearly passage of time judgments. The stronger the negative emotional states, the harder people feel to recall the things from the last year, and the faster people perceive time passing last year. This research provides novel insights for understanding the relations of negative emotional states and passage of time judgments, and importantly, individuals' feelings of ease-of-retrieval plays a significant role on explaining the relations.