Tendency to Recall Remote Memories as a Mediator of Overgeneral Recall in Depression

Abstract

In the current study, remoteness of memories predicted overgeneral memory (OGM), and the tendency for remote recall was unrelated to either rumination or avoidance tendencies. In Experiments 1 and 2, dysphoric and nondysphoric participants dated their memories on autobiographical memory tests. Remoteness was related to OGM regardless of dysphoria. Furthermore, when instructed to recall from a specific time period, nondysphoric and dysphoric individuals showed similar levels of OGM for remote events and similar levels of memory specificity for recent events. Dysphoria correlated with OGM and the tendency to recall more remote memories, but remoteness was a better predictor of OGM and emerged as a mediating factor. In Experiment 3, remote memory recall was a better predictor of OGM than were either rumination or avoidance tendencies and was not correlated with either. We suggest that OGM is crucially tied to remote recall tendencies and discuss the theoretical and clinical implications within the framework of current models.