While previous investigations have delved into the effects of emotional items and emotional sources on participants’ source memory, it remains mostly unclear whether and how the internal affective state of participants impacts their source memory. Drawing from the cue-utilization theory (Easterbrook, 1959) and the affect-as-information approach (Schwarz & Clore, 1983), our study aimed to elucidate the impact of a negative affective state with varying arousal levels on source memory. According to the cue-utilization theory, a high-arousing affective state results in a narrowed attentional scope, thereby disrupting source memory. In contrast, the affect-as-information approach suggests that a negative affective state, regardless of arousal level, fosters a more thorough and analytical processing style, ultimately benefiting source memory. To investigate these hypotheses, participants in our study (preliminary N = 76) were exposed to short movie sequences designed to induce an anxious (negative high-arousing, n = 26), sad (negative low-arousing, n = 25), or neutral affective state (n = 25). They then underwent a standard source-monitoring task: They learned neutral word items paired with a male or female source face and were later asked to recognize learnt items along with their sources. Multinomial modeling was employed to analyze the memory data. Preliminary results indicated a significant impairment in source memory in the anxious group compared to the sad and neutral groups. There was no significant difference between the sad and neutral groups, which overall aligns with the predictions of the cue-utilization theory rather than the affect-as-information account.