Characteristics Of Autobiographical Memories Research Articles

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and positive autobiographical memory characteristics in everyday life.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) report difficulties engaging with positive autobiographical memories. Extending this line of research, we examined daily-level concurrent and lagged associations between PTSS severity and positive memory characteristics (vividness, coherence, accessibility, time perspective, sensory details, visual perspective, emotional intensity, sharing, distancing, and valence). The sample included 88 trauma survivors (Mage = 39.89 years, 59.1% female) who completed seven daily measures of PTSS and positive memory characteristics. Multilevel models examined concurrent and lagged associations between PTSS severity and positive memory characteristics. The results indicated that days with higher PTSS severity were associated with less accessibility, β = -.21, p <.001; less visual perspective, β = -0.13, p =.034; and lower positive valence of the memory, β = -.19, p =.003, as well as more emotional intensity associated with, β =.13, p =.041, and more distancing from, β =.21, p <.001, the memory. Supplemental lagged analyses indicated that higher previous-day PTSS severity was associated with more next-day distancing from, β =.15, p =.042, and sensory details of, β =.17, p =.016, the memory. Findings suggest that individuals with more severe PTSS have difficulties accessing positively valenced memories from a first-person perspective, are more distant from the recalled positive memory, and report more emotional intensity when retrieving the memory. Thus, improving access to and reducing distance from positive autobiographical memories, as well as addressing emotional intensity surrounding the retrieval of these memories, may be potential clinical targets for PTSS interventions.

Young adults’ personal and relationship memories: recollections of self, siblings, and family

ABSTRACT We investigated the phenomenological and narrative characteristics of young adults’ self- and other-related memories within the context of significant relationships. We also examined whether participants’ gender and/or gender concordance between participants and their siblings was associated with autobiographical memory characteristics. We collected data from 108 college students who had only one sibling. All participants provided narratives in response to three memory prompts (i.e., self-related, sibling-related, and family-related) and rated their memories along dimensions such as significance, emotional valence, clarity etc. The narratives were coded on thematic content, transformativeness, mentions of others, and event type dimensions. Results revealed differences between self-related memories and sibling- and family-related memories across several dimensions. However, sibling-related and family-related memories were mostly similar to each other. No statistically significant gender or gender concordance differences were observed. Further exploratory analysis showed that memory narratives describing extended events were more transformative than single event narratives. The findings enhance our understanding about the self-in-relation to others through relationship memories.

The Relationship between Traumatic Life Events and Autobiographical Memory Characteristics and Smoking

The Relationship between Traumatic Life Events and Autobiographical Memory Characteristics and Smoking

Remembering in the Digital World: Autobiographical Memory in Social Media

The use of social media continues to increase in modern cultures in recent years. This new context leads to creating a virtual self, which somewhat differs from the real self. Further, social relations are set and maintained predominantly in this new context. There is no doubt that social media does not only affect individuals' social relations but also their cognitive skills by pulling them into new situations that they are unfamiliar with. In this new context, content coded in social media can be remembered in real life, and content coded in real life can be remembered in social media. This new context, where mostly real-life stories are shared, is likely to strongly affect the autobiographical memory processes of individuals. Past research suggests that social media affects autobiographical memory processes both directly (phenomenological characteristics, functions) and indirectly through cognitive processes (eg, attention, working memory, transitive memory). Studies about its indirect effects indicate that people with limited attention and working memory capacity have difficulty processing the high number of stimuli offered by social media. Given that the long-term memory capacity is not limited, it is plausible to expect that some of the contents are encoded into the memory; however, problems may occur in the storage and retrieval processes. Studies about the direct effect of social media show that the phenomenological characteristics (number of details, accuracy, emotional content) and functions (self, social, directing, therapeutic) of events experienced or shared on social media differ from real-life events. This theoretical review discusses the effects of social media use on cognitive processes related to memory processes and more specifically on the phenomenological and functional characteristics of autobiographical memory. To recognize and prevent potential psychological issues that may emerge in relation to this new setting, it appears essential to comprehend how social media affects autobiographical memory, which is essential for self-perception.

Bellek Özelliklerinde Duygu İçeriğinin Etkisi: Duygusal Değer, Duygusal Yoğunluk ve Tekil Duygular

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationships between the emotional valence and emotional intensity of autobiographical memories and the phenomenological characteristics of memories in the context of individual emotions and memory types. Seven hundred and sixty-four students (514 female, 250 male) from Dokuz Eylul University participated in the study. Participants were asked to recall an childhood memory, a self-defining memory, or a romantic relationship memory. After thinking about the memory they remember, they were requested to fill out the Autobiographical Memory Characteristics Questionnaire and a scale for intensity of individual emotions. Regression analyses showed that emotional intensity of the memories predicted the sensory details, rehearsal, and preoccupation with emotions. In moderated-mediation analyses, mediating effects for emotional intensity were detected between individual emotions and memory characteristics, except for the negative self-esteem emotions. Among these analyses, a moderating effect of memory types was detected only for the relationships between hostile emotions and anxiety-related emotions and the memory characteristics through the mediation of emotional intensity. While the intensity of singular emotions showed stronger relationship with emotional valence, the main variable that predicted memory characteristics overall was the emotional intensity.

Relations Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Positive Memory Characteristics Among Women Reporting Intimate Partner Violence: A Micro-Longitudinal Study.

Evidence links posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms to positive autobiographical memory characteristics. To extend this research, we uniquely utilized micro-longitudinal data to examine (1) the trajectory of PTSD symptom count across 30 days; and (2) if more vividness and accessibility of retrieved positive memories at the daily level predicted decreases in the trajectory of PTSD symptom count across 30 days. The current study was a secondary data analysis of a larger study. The sample included 74 women who reported physical or sexual victimization in the past 30 days by their current male partner and reported the use of alcohol and/or drugs during that time (Mage = 39.68 years; 37.80% with diagnostic PTSD; 43.2% White; 37.8% Black or African American). They completed thrice daily measures of PTSD symptoms and positive memory characteristics (vividness and accessibility) across 30 days. Results of the random effects longitudinal multilevel model indicated that, on average, the relation between PTSD symptom count and positive memory vividness was positive and statistically significant (0.19, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] [0.2, 0.35]); and the relation between PTSD symptom count and positive memory accessibility was positive and statistically significant (0.31, 95% CI [0.15, 0.47]). The relationship between PTSD symptom count and positive memory vividness/accessibility (i.e., slopes) varied significantly across participants, with a wide range of positive and negative regression coefficients. Future research needs to investigate why and how positive memory vividness and accessibility may relate to trajectories of PTSD symptoms over time, with potential clinical implications for positive memory interventions addressing PTSD.

A Descriptive Study of Autism Spectrum Disorder’s Autobiographical Memory Characteristics Based on the Relationship between Memory and Self

본 연구는 자폐 스펙트럼 장애의 기억 특성을 기억과 자아의 관계에 초점을 두고 고찰하였다. 먼저 기억과 자아의 학문적 정의를 토대로, 자폐 스펙트럼 장애가 보이는 자아의 이해 수준을 살펴보았다. 구체적으로 자아에 관한 지각 수준, 거울 자기 인식, 지연 영상 자기인식, 자신의 이름에 대한 반응, 1인칭 대명사 사용 빈도, 자신의 감정에 대한 지각 수준, 상위 인지와 마음 상태 추론 능력, 사회적 기술, 성격에 대한 인식, 자기 개념 수준에 관한 연구를 고찰하였다. 또한, 자아에 관한 이해를 토대로 자폐 스펙트럼 장애의 일화 기억, 의미 기억, 자기 참조 효과와 소유 효과, 미래 기억 관련 연구를 살펴보았다. 본질적으로 기억과 자아의 관계는 다면적이고 복잡하며, 쌍방향적이다. 자폐 스펙트럼 장애의 자아 인식능력에 관한 지식은 이들의 기억 특성을 이해하고, 나아가 사법적 맥락에서 이들 진술의 완전함과 신뢰성을 판단하는 데 도움이 될 것이다.

Effects of dissociation on the characteristics of the happiest and the saddest autobiographical memories

ABSTRACT Dissociation is one of the phenomena that is closely linked to memory processes, specifically to autobiographical memory. Although a considerable amount of research investigated the relationship between dissociation and basic memory processes, how dissociation as a non-pathological personality trait relates to the characteristics of autobiographical memory is still largely unclear. Here, we investigated the relationship between dissociative tendency and the affect, phenomenology, and centrality of emotional autobiographical memories by asking participants low and high on dissociation to recall their happiest and saddest memories. Results indicated that dissociation is characterised by a negative self-concept and leads to increased accessibility and centrality of the saddest memories to identity and life story and to decreased vividness and clarity of time of the happiest memories. Findings also showed that dissociation leads to perceiving these emotionally salient memories as psychologically more distant yet feeling more positive about them over time, supporting the view of dissociation as the result of an ineffective emotional regulation system. The study provides empirical evidence that dissociation relates to the recollective experience of valenced autobiographical memories in different ways.

The Mediating Role of Autobiographical Memory in the Relationship Between Narcissism and Rejection Sensitivity.

Both grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic individuals perceive a threat to the self when they face real or imaginary rejection. The sensitivity to rejection may affect them differently. Thus, this research examines the role of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in the retrieval of self-threatening memories. The study aims to test the mediating role of autobiographical memory (AM) in the relationship between rejection sensitivity (RS) and two dimensions of narcissism. A total of 369 university students (ages between 18 and 32) participated in the study. The Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire was applied to the participants, triggering the memory of positive and negative autobiographical rejection. Then, the Autobiographical Memory Characteristics Questionnaire and the Pathological Narcissism Inventory were applied. The results showed that the autobiographical memory characteristics differ depending on the dimension of narcissism when they face rejection. This changes depending on having positive or negative content as well as recalling the sensory details especially emotional characteristics of the AM. The use of AM as a mediator in the relationship between narcissism and rejection sensitivity has provided a viewpoint beyond experimental and relational studies. The results have shed light on the role of narcissism and RS in the processing of autobiographical memories.

Intention and Monitoring Influence the Content of Memory Reports.

While voluntary memories are intended and expected, involuntary memories are retrieved with no intention and are usually unexpected (when one is not waiting for a memory). The present study investigates the effects of retrieval intentionality (wanting to retrieve a memory) and monitoring processes (expecting a memory to appear) on the characteristics of autobiographical memories. To this end, by applying mixed-method analysis of memory descriptions (i.e. combining qualitative with quantitative analyses) we re-analysed the large pool of involuntary and voluntary memories obtained in one previously published study, asking independent judges to rate all the memories on several dimensions reflecting memory accessibility (i.e. the likelihood that a memory can be retrieved). When discussing our findings, we speculate that there may be several stages of memory retrieval that might be differently influenced by intention and monitoring. We discuss the novel hypothesis that there may be two different types of monitoring that operate independently of each other, before and after retrieval, respectively.

Trauma survivors with disrupted sleep generate less specific and less emotional autobiographical memories

Autobiographical memory in trauma-exposed individuals tends to be overgeneral and negatively biased. Although healthy sleep helps consolidate memory traces, and memory for emotional stimuli is better when there is a period of sleep between stimulus exposure and retrieval, and trauma-exposed individuals tend to experience disrupted sleep, no previous study investigates whether specific characteristics of autobiographical memory in these individuals may be accounted for, at least partially, by sleep disruption. Participants were 20 female sexual assault survivors and 20 women with no history of trauma exposure. We collected data from 1 night of polysomnographically monitored sleep and from a next-morning administration of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). In response to positive AMT stimuli, trauma-exposed participants with less REM sleep produced more overgeneral autobiographical memories. In response to both negative and neutral stimuli, trauma-exposed participants and participants with more disrupted sleep (e.g., lower sleep efficiency, more spontaneous arousals) produced less emotional autobiographical memories. In response to negative stimuli, trauma-exposed participants with more spontaneous arousals produced less emotional autobiographical memories. Our design did not include a separate group of non-traumatized depressed patients or a sleep adaptation night. Our text processing software did not allow investigation of whether the affective content of AMT responses was congruent with cue valence. Disrupted sleep, both independently and in interaction with trauma exposure, is associated with less specific and less emotional autobiographical recollections. Sleep-focused behavioral or pharmacological interventions might help alleviate cognitive and affective consequences associated with overgeneral and dispassionate autobiographical memory. • Trauma exposure plus disrupted sleep produces overgeneral autobiographical memory • Trauma exposure plus disrupted sleep produces dispassionate autobiographical memory • Disrupted sleep produces longer autobiographical recollections • Trauma exposure produces shorter autobiographical recollections

Związki temperamentu z wybranymi cechami wspomnień autobiograficznych

Relations between Temperament and the Characteristics of Autobiographical Memories The aim of the study was to examine whether there exists a relationship between temperamental traits and selected characteristics of autobiographical memories. 71 persons twice recalled and rated their holiday memories: in October and three months later. In addition, the participants filled in the Formal Characteristics of Behavior – Temperament Inventory, Revised Version. The results revealed that participants with high emotional reactivity recall few events and their recollections are mostly negative and non-specific. Participants with high activity recall many different events and their recollections contain strong emotions. Participants with high perseveration recall negative events first. The exploration of the relation between temperament and autobiographical memories may help discover mechanisms that contribute to the construction of given narrative schemas through which they may influence individual development.

自伝的記憶特性質問紙(AMCQ)日本語版開発の試み(1)

自伝的記憶特性質問紙(AMCQ)日本語版開発の試み(1)

Ethnic group differences in autobiographical memory characteristics: Values as a mediator or moderator?

Ethnic group differences in autobiographical memory characteristics: Values as a mediator or moderator?

The Proust Machine: What a Public Science Event Tells Us About Autobiographical Memory and the Five Senses.

Our senses are constantly stimulated in our daily lives but we have only a limited understanding of how they affect our cognitive processes and, especially, our autobiographical memory. Capitalizing on a public science event, we conducted the first empirical study that aimed to compare the relative influence of the five senses on the access, temporal distribution, and phenomenological characteristics of autobiographical memories in a sample of about 400 participants. We found that the access and the phenomenological features of memories varied as a function of the type of sensory cues, but not their temporal distribution. With regard to their influence on autobiographical memory, an overlap between some senses was found, with on one hand, olfaction and taste and, on the other, vision, audition, and touch. We discuss these findings in the light of theories of perception, memory, and the self, and consider methodological implications of the sensory cuing technique in memory research, as well as clinical implications for research in psychopathological and neuropsychological populations.

Ethnic Group Differences in Autobiographical Memory Characteristics: Values as a Mediator or Moderator?

Individual-level values play a role in cultural group differences in autobiographical memory. The current study (N = 192) used a Caribbean sample to examine whether individual-level values (self-transcendence, self-enhancement, conservation) were a mediator or moderator of ethnic group differences (Afro-, Indo-, and Mixed-Trinidadian) in the characteristics (emotional intensity, vividness, thinking and talking about the memory) of positive autobiographical memories. Values were not a mediator, but were a moderator. At high levels of conservation or self-transcendence values, Indo-Trinidadians had autobiographical memories that were more emotionally intense, vivid, and thought and talked about compared to Afro-Trinidadians. Mixed-Trinidadians had autobiographical memories that were more emotionally intense than the other ethnic groups, in general, and more often talked about when self-enhancement values were low. The discussion proposes that the alignment of individual-level values with cultural-group expectations matters for autobiographical remembering, suggests that sociohistorical circumstance may play a role, and addresses the study limitations.

Supplemental Material for Ethnic Group Differences in Autobiographical Memory Characteristics: Values as a Mediator or Moderator?

Supplemental Material for Ethnic Group Differences in Autobiographical Memory Characteristics: Values as a Mediator or Moderator?

Автобиографическая память как когнитивный феномен

The subject of analysis in the article is the cognitive characteristics of autobiographical memory. The idea is that, being an indisputable cognitive phenomenon, autobiographical memory, nevertheless, has a specific internal structure, which implies the obligatory immersion of the cognitive characteristics of autobiographical memory in specific cultural and historical contexts. And therefore, the author believes, these characteristics themselves acquire additional cognitive potential. Thus, autobiographical memory&amp;#x27;s cognitive nature allows us to take a special look at the memories and their presentation, expressed in the texts of historical materials. The article talks about the interpenetrating relationship of cognitive and historical in autobiographical memories and their embodiment in autobiographical narratives. Individual memories are a fusion of autobiographical, that is, subjective, and attempts at narrativization, which gives memories the status of a historical event. We can say that in the “texts of memory”, the cognitive is revealed from the historical perspective; and, at the same time, the historical as the concentration of autobiographical memory acquires the character of a cognitive phenomenon. And sometimes, these autobiographical texts are the only material that makes it possible to learn something about the peculiarities of individual life in a particular historical era (including the cognitive aspects of the individual life of that time).

Narrative characteristics of autobiographical memory predict expectations of narrator gender

ABSTRACT Gender differences in autobiographical memory have been documented in various domains. The current study attempts to sharpen an understanding of extant gender differences in autobiographical memory by considering listener expectations, contributing to a sociocultural model. Across three studies (a pilot and two separate data collections) a narrative database was created. Narratives were coded for variables that have been shown to differ by gender, including emotion, connectedness to others, factual and interpretive elaboration, and thematic coherence. Participants read narratives and assessed if the narrator was male or female, indicating their confidence. In the pilot study and study 1, narrative features consistently predicted participant’s assessments of narrator gender in two separate methods using the same narratives. In study 2, new narratives were used, showing replicability of the method and avoiding potential confounds of naturally occurring differences in study 1 and pilot data. More emotion words predicted higher likelihood of assessing a female narrator. Results support the use of such a methodology as an innovative way to examine gender-based listener expectations in autobiographical memory. They can be used for further theorising about the source of gender differences in this domain of memory that represents a combination of cognitive and social processes.

Priming perceptivo y percepción de amenaza en exposición a eventos traumáticos: un estudio exploratorio

Holmes y Rahe (1967) reconocen que las experiencias traumáticas son independientes de la valencia emocional del evento y la percepción de amenaza tiene incidencia en cómo son procesadas estas vivencias. Los estudios en priming perceptivo han identificado que personas con trastorno por estrés postraumático (TEPT) presentan ventajas en el procesamiento de información traumática, no obstante, no se ha explorado en población en ausencia de trastorno. El objetivo de esta investigación es explorar el priming en población sin TEPT y evaluar si se produce cuando se percibe amenaza. Se evaluaron 42 universitarios y se les pidió que describieran un suceso autobiográfico, positivo o traumático y el grado de amenaza percibida de dicho evento. Los resultados evidencian diferencias significativas en priming perceptivo en función de la percepción de amenaza del evento, F(2, 42) = 6.562, p = .004, ηp2 = .26, independientemente de la valencia de los hechos narrados. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados en la línea de estudios de memoria implícita y trauma.