Vicarious Memories Research Articles

Reminiscence bumps in personal and vicarious memories: Older adults’ recollections of parent–child memory sharing.

Reminiscence bumps in personal and vicarious memories: Older adults’ recollections of parent–child memory sharing.

Positive and negative vicarious memories in college students and adults.

Positive and negative vicarious memories in college students and adults.

Remembering the good and bad and the self and others in a culturally modulated self-memory system

ABSTRACT Wang and Conway (2006, Autobiographical memory, self, and culture. In L.-G. Nilsson, & N. Ohta (Eds.), Memory and society: Psychological perspectives (pp. 9–27). Psychology Press) posit that remembering takes place in a culturally modulated self-memory system in which working self-goals are shaped by society and, in turn, influence the encoding and construction of memories in a culturally canonical fashion. The current research examined the self-goal of competence, which manifests through self-enhancement versus self-improvement motivations, in influencing remembering in different cultural contexts. We conducted two cross-cultural studies to examine memories for personal successes and failures (Study 1) and autobiographical and vicarious experiences (Study 2) in connection with individuals’ positive self-views. European Americans recalled a greater number of success than failure memories (Study 1) and US participants recalled a greater number of autobiographical than vicarious memories (Study 2), which was further associated with positive self-views at the individual level. In contrast, Asian (Study 1) and Chinese participants (Study 2) recalled even-handedly the different types of memories, and the memory retrieval was unrelated to individuals’ self-views. We discuss the findings in light of the different manifestations of the competence goal in shaping memory in the culturally modulated self-memory system.

Queer(ing) vicarious memory: Lessons from an LGBTQ+ intergenerational community project.

Queer(ing) vicarious memory: Lessons from an LGBTQ+ intergenerational community project.

It takes two: A dyadic approach to the content and functions of vicarious memories.

It takes two: A dyadic approach to the content and functions of vicarious memories.

Vicarious memory promotes successful adaptation and enriches the self.

Vicarious memory promotes successful adaptation and enriches the self.

There is great value in hearing vicarious memories, but what if you don’t have access to them?

There is great value in hearing vicarious memories, but what if you don’t have access to them?

Supplemental Material for Positive and Negative Vicarious Memories in College Students and Adults

Supplemental Material for Positive and Negative Vicarious Memories in College Students and Adults

Does Sharing Memories Make Us Feel Closer? The Roles of Memory Type and Culture

The present research examined the effects of sharing different types of memories on perceived relationship closeness and how that is related to psychological well-being in a cross-cultural context. In two studies, European American and Asian participants (total N = 714) reported their feelings of closeness to a conversation partner in hypothetical situations that involved five types of information sharing: specific and general autobiographical memories, specific and general vicarious memories, and non-person information. Sharing memories led to greater feelings of closeness than sharing non-person information in both groups. Asians felt closer to the conversation partner than European Americans across all types of information sharing. Sharing autobiographical and specific memories led to greater closeness than sharing vicarious and general memories in both groups, although sharing specific autobiographical memories appeared most effective for relationship closeness for European Americans. Perceived relationship closeness following conversational exchanges was positively associated with psychological well-being across cultures.

What is the source of preschool children's memories of events from their own lives?

AbstractIn experimental tasks, preschool children sometimes mistakenly attribute memories to themselves rather than external sources, with decreasing source errors between 4‐ and 5‐years of age. In this research, we tested whether these developmental changes are also observed in spontaneously generated memories of personal life events. 4‐ and 5‐year olds generated life event memories and provided age estimates for when they took place. The children at both ages most often mentioned events that they could plausibly remember and some memories from external sources, including vicarious memories and events beyond their lifespan. Parents affirmed the accuracy of their children's memories and reported that some events were only told to or were imagined by the children. Our findings suggest that preschool children most often report events that they themselves remember and occasionally include events likely originating from external sources. These results add to the evidence showing that children's memories for events can be accurate.

Mother, Father, and I: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Adolescents’ Intergenerational Narratives and Well-Being

Cultural differences in autobiographical memories are linked to differences in self-understanding and well-being. This study investigated how vicarious memories of family events, expressed in intergenerational narratives, are also important for well-being. New Zealand adolescents (N = 263) from three cultural groups (Chinese, Māori, and European; 12–21 years) told narratives about their mothers’ and fathers’ childhood. Narratives were coded for event valence, topic, thematic coherence, subjective perspective, relationships, and identity connections. Regardless of culture and age, adolescents’ self-esteem was uniquely related to using subjective perspective terms in mothers’ stories, and to telling thematically coherent fathers’ stories, controlling for personality traits and personal narratives. However, the links to well-being were not always positive for New Zealand Māori and European adolescents, possibly due to the unique cultural-historical context in which these narratives were situated. Further research using both quantitative and qualitative methods could shed light on the delicate relationship between intergenerational narratives and adolescent development.

Highly emotional vicarious memories

ABSTRACT Vicarious memories are memories that people have in reference to events that they have not directly experienced, rather heard second-hand. Little research has investigated vicarious memory; when it has, it has predominantly focused on vicarious trauma. The purpose of this study was to compare vicarious memories with personal memories. University students (N = 142) completed an in-person interview in which they recalled four memories: a highly positive personal memory, a highly negative personal memory, a highly positive vicarious memory and a highly negative vicarious memory. Personal and vicarious memory reports were compared and contrasted in terms of memory qualities, memory functions and event centrality. The results indicate that vicarious and personal memory reports share many phenomenological and functional properties. Although to a lesser degree than personal memories, vicarious memories do influence decision-making and problem-solving. Current models of episodic memory only include events that individuals have directly experienced. The current study adds to a growing body of literature which suggests that current models of episodic memory are too restrictive and should expand to include vicarious memory reports.

Cultural patterns in autobiographical memory of childhood: Comparison of Chinese, Russian, and Uzbek samples

In the present study, I examined whether the regular patterns of variables that referred to mental representation of the entire childhood in young adults might be associated with the different types of cultural selves proposed by Kagitcibasi's model of family change. In this model, three types of cultural selves (heteronomous-related self, autonomous-separated self, and autonomous-related self) are merged with culturally specific styles of parenting and childhood experience. Chinese, Russian, and Uzbekistani participants (N = 439) visualized their childhood on timelines. The exploratory factor analysis suggested a three-factor solution. Factor 1 combined memories of achievements and vicarious memories; that is, memories representing events that happened to other people. In my point of view, in contrast to "we-memories," vicarious memories portray a readiness to view other people as a valuable part of one's own life, but in the context of well-defined self-boundaries. Therefore, they denote the kind of relatedness which does not contradict autonomy. Because Factor 1 was found to be the most articulated in the Chinese sample, it was linked to the autonomous-related self, with the focus on directive function of autobiographical memory. Factor 2 was composed of the abundance of recollections, the early age of first memory, and prolonged childhood. Due to the highest scores being achieved on Factor 2 in the Russian sample, it was attributed to the autonomous-separated self, employing predominantly a self-reflective function of autobiographical memory. Factor 3 consisted of memories of attending social groups, positive emotional bias, and a tendency to mention one's own birth. Taking into account that the Uzbeks achieved the highest scores on this factor, it was interpreted as a mnemonic database of a heteronomous-related self, predominantly associated with social bonding and emotion regulation functions. Taken together, the findings highlight the assumption that childhood memories reveal a cultural self.

Effects of case library recommendation system on problem solving and knowledge structure development

Case-based reasoning posits that learners can use their prior experience to solve new problems. This theory is cited to explain the benefits of problem-based learning (PBL), especially as it relates to knowledge structure development. However, critics argue that learners lack the relevant knowledge structures to simultaneously learn new content and solve complex problems. In terms of learning design, theorists suggest a set of cases (case library) can be used as vicarious memory and thus bridge the experience gap. While this may be beneficial in theory, studies show experts and novices tend to process the details of a case in markedly different ways, which would be problematic in terms of case libraries' ability to scaffolding problem-solving. To address this challenge, this study compared the following conditions in terms of argumentation and knowledge structure development: PBL only, PBL with static case library, PBL with recommendation system case library. Both the case library conditions outperformed the PBL-only condition in terms of initial argument development. However, the PBL with recommendation system case library outperformed the other conditions on rebuttal development. Implications for PBL, CBR, knowledge structure development, and learning design are discussed.

EMPATHY AND VICARIOUSNESS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES IN THE CHINESE SAMPLE

There is empirical evidence suggesting that autobiographical memories of similar experiences evoke empathy [1, 6]. The positive correlation between trait empathy and phenomenology of autobiographical memories was also demonstrated [9]. We assumed that not all autobiographical memories are relevant to empathic feeling. The most promising candidate for scaffolding impact onto empathy, in our point of view, is a specific type of memories – vicarious memories. 96 Chinese participants filled out an Interpersonal Reactivity Index questionnaire and drew their lifelines of the most important events from their childhood in correlation in the timeline. Lifelines were analyzed in regard to the proportion of other-focused and vicarious memories and their emotional valence. The study suggests that the significant predictor of empathy is the distinctive type of childhood memories with specific level of vicariousness. The main focus in these autobiographical memories is shifted to the other person who is active toward the participant.

The place of ‘vicarious memories’ in contemporary South Africa

This article examines the role of apartheid memories within a contemporary dispensation. It argues that memories are an important constituent of a democracy which aspires towards social cohesion and social justice ideals. It examines how a group of post graduate students at a selected university make sense of remembering past atrocities, as vicarious witnesses. What emerges is a set of competitive responses to remembering the past. This implies that we have to work much harder at engaging with memories of the past in democratic spaces such as universities, as a way of working towards a fully inclusive national identity.

Vicarious memories.

People not only have vivid memories of their own personal experiences, but also vicarious memories of events that happened to other people. To compare the phenomenological and functional qualities of personal and vicarious memories, college students described a specific past event that they had recounted to a parent or friend, and also an event that a friend or parent had recounted to them. Although ratings of memory vividness, emotional intensity, visualization, and physical reactions were higher for personal than for vicarious memories, the overall pattern of ratings was similar. Participants' ratings also indicated that vicarious memories serve many of the same life functions as personal memories, although at lower levels of intensity. The findings suggest that current conceptions of autobiographical memory, which focus on past events that happened directly to the self, should be expanded to include detailed mental representations of specific past events that happened to other people.

"Jeśli my zapomnimy, kto będzie pamiętał?"

The text is an attempt to determine the relationship between post‑memory (or – in other words – “vicarious memory”) and art. Particular attention is given to visual arts. The works of artists of the younger generation, such as Libera, Bałka, Żmijewski, and to some extent Betlejewski, who explored the memory of the Shoah, were discussed. Their works can be considered a form of manifestation of post‑memory. Assuming that the analysis of artistic phenomena is not possible without reference to the social context in which art is created and its social responsibility, the works of these artists were confronted with the material traces of memory (including Jedwabne, Kolno, Jeleniewo) that shape the social background of artistic creativity, its reception and debate about it.

The German Countermonument: Conceptual Indeterminacies and the Retheorisation of the Arts of Vicarious Memory

This article examines trends in the conceptualisation of German countermonumental architecture that associate monumentality and fascism. The countermonument has been conceptualised as the appropriate form by which to memorialise the Holocaust, given its self-disruptive dynamic and inability to impose a monumental version of the past. However, following recent critiques of memory studies and German architectural discourse, this article argues that the prevailing conceptualisation of the countermonument engenders an ironic slippage from, to use Gillian Rose's terms, the “representation of fascism” to the “fascism of representation”.

Humanist Sociology and Holocaust Memorialization: On Accenting the Positive

The inevitable passing of all direct Holocaust participants (victims and perpetrators alike) makes the perspective of empathetic others all the more significant. Humanist sociologists can help in the memorialization effort by processing their own related consequential memories. They can share resulting insights into the human condition, and they can recommend this demanding exercise to others. As well, by using the new methodology of Appreciative Inquiry they can help assess the current balance of attention to Good and Evil in the Holocaust narrative. New attention could be paid to efforts made by many victims to not surrender to victimization, along with related efforts of onlookers to lend them assistance. This accenting of the positive might earn fresh and supportive attention to the Holocaust in the future from non-Jews and Jews alike who are unknowing, indifferent, or at arm's length. Success in promoting vicarious memories in those born long after the Holocaust, memories that draw more on Good than on Evil, could help assure all of us a finer twenty-first century.