Andrea Follmer Greenhoot

Heart rate-defined phases of attention, look duration, and infant performance in the paired-comparison paradigm.

Four-month-old infants (N = 68) were tested in a paired-comparison familiarization-novelty recognition task in which the length of choice trials was systematically manipulated. Peak look duration during pretest and familiarization periods significantly predicted a dichotomous measure of recognition performance, but recognition was unaffected by choice-trial length. Heart rate (HR) was simultaneously assessed during the task, and the amount of time infants spent in various HR-defined phases of attention was assessed. Longer durations of looking during pretest and familiarization were significantly associated with more time spent in both sustained attention (SA) and attention termination (AT). Of these two variables, only individual differences in AT accounted for significant variance in recognition memory performance. A final analysis addressed the possibility that individual differences in AT mediated the relation between look duration and recognition performance. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that individual differences in the disengagement of attention underlie the relation between look duration and cognitive performance in early to midinfancy.

Introduction to this Special Issue Meaning in personal memories: Is more always better?

Theoretical models of autobiographical memory, narrative processing, and responses to stressful events all propose that the construction of meaningful and coherent accounts of personal experiences is adaptive. These models are echoed by modern popular beliefs about personal memory and are supported by research that spans multiple literatures. For instance, work on identity development suggests that meaning in personal event narratives contributes to the development of identity and a coherent life story (e.g., McLean & Pratt, 2006). Likewise the literature on responses to negative and traumatic events views meaning making as an adaptive form of coping with distressing events (e.g., Fivush, Sales, & Bohanek, 2008; Pakenham, 2008; Pennebaker, Mayne & Francis, 1997). Despite this theoretical and empirical convergence on the adaptive value of meaning making, emerging evidence suggests that constructing meaning from the past does not always yield psychological benefits. Indeed, sometimes meaning is associated with psychological distress or other negative outcomes (Fivush, Marin, Crawford, Reynolds, & Brewin, 2007; Fivush & Sales, 2006; McLean, Breen, & Fournier, 2010; Reynolds, Brewin, & Saxton, 2000; Sales & Fivush, 2005). These recent findings suggest that it may be time to re-evaluate theoretical arguments for the benefits of personal reflection for wellbeing (see also McLean & Mansfield, 2011). This special issue of Memory provides the raw material for this type of theoretical re-evaluation and exploration. In this issue we highlight and integrate recent findings from a variety of research teams which suggest that there may be both benefits and costs associated with meaning making in autobiographical memory. The empirical work featured here has been designed from varied theoretical frameworks with varied measures of both meaning and psychological adjustment. The fact that parallel findings have emerged across these diverse paradigms makes a powerful statement about the need to revise our thinking about the value of meaning in personal memories. By bringing these findings together in this special issue, we hope to shed light on patterns that extend beyond particular paradigms and measurement strategies to answer questions about when meaning making in personal recollections contributes to well-being and when it does not. Our goal is to spur revisions to current theory and understanding of the role narrative processing in healthy functioning. We begin by summarising the myriad ways in which both meaning and well-being have been examined in the broader literature and in this collection of papers. We then attempt to bring some coherence to this pool of work by identifying some cross-cutting themes that bridge the individual contributions to this special issue.

Making sense of traumatic memories: Memory qualities and psychological symptoms in emerging adults with and without abuse histories

This study explored the connections between multiple measures of meaning making and psychological adjustment in people with and without histories of abuse. Young adults (n =177), recollected their three most stressful memories and rated them on importance and emotional and sensory qualities. We analysed the narratives for lexical markers of meaning making and explicit references to meaning or meaning-making attempts. There was little overlap between self-reported qualities and narrative content, and they were differentially predictive of psychological symptoms and transient emotional reactions. Consistent with the PTSD literature, more salient self-report memory characteristics (e.g., visceral emotions), and negative emotion and sensation terms predicted more symptoms. The narrative indices provided the best prediction to psychological adjustment, with several meaning indices (e.g., references to positive impact) predicting reduced symptoms, particularly for the Abuse group. Contrary to meaning-making models, resolutions predicted more symptoms, suggesting that aversive feelings during memory telling may trigger on-the-spot sense making to cope with distress.

Intercommunity Relocation and Adolescent Friendships: Who Struggles and Why?

This study examined how relocation to a new community affects intimacy and companionship in close friendships by comparing experiences of early adolescents who began their 7th or 8th grade school year in a new community (111 boys, 96 girls) with those of residentially stable agemates (30 boys, 38 girls). Drawing from a developmental- contextual, multisystem conceptual framework and using a person-centered analytic approach, the study provides strong evidence that most adolescents experience a relatively brief period of diminished access to companionship and intimacy with close friends following relocation. The extent of diminution may be greater for adolescents with social anxiety or behavioral concerns. Findings have implications for families who are facing a move and for clinicians working with recently relocated adolescents.

Secondary Data Analysis: An Important Tool for Addressing Developmental Questions

Existing data sets can be an efficient, powerful, and readily available resource for addressing questions about developmental science. Many of the available databases contain hundreds of variables of interest to developmental psychologists, track participants longitudinally, and have representative samples. In this article, the authors discuss the benefits and limitations of secondary data analysis so that researchers can make informed decisions about when it makes sense to use existing data and when it does not. They then provide an overview of best practices for handling the most common conceptual, methodological, and practical issues that arise when adopting this approach.

When and why does abuse predict reduced autobiographical memory specificity

Two studies were conducted to explore the conditions that elicit autobiographical memory problems in abuse victims and the mechanism that underlie them. In Study 1 older adolescents (n=80) with and without self-reported abuse histories completed a modified version of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT-U); participants were given an unlimited amount of time to provide specific memories in response to cue words. Participants also completed measures of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), working memory, and attentional biases. This study found that abuse severity and PTSD symptoms were positively related to memory specificity on the AMT-U. In Study 2 older adolescents (n=78) with and without self-reported abuse histories completed the traditional (timed) version of the AMT. Participants also completed measures of working memory, attentional biases, self-reported coping, and psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depression and PTSD). In this study the opposite relationship was observed, such that abuse severity was related to poorer memory specificity, but this relationship was explained by disengagement coping and PTSD symptoms. This work suggests that poor memory specificity may represent a form of avoidance, but the application of avoidant mechanisms depends on the remembering context.

The Influence of Another's Perspective on Children's Recall of Previously Misconstrued Events

Childrens abilities to reframe their memories of events after hearing another childs perspective of the same events were examined, and links between memory reframing, cognitive ability, and social competence were explored. Nine- to 11-year-olds (N = 79) were told to imagine that the events in a narrated story happened to them. Next, they heard another story that described either the same events (experimental condition) or unrelated events (control condition) from another childs perspective. The children in the experimental group reframed their memories in light of the alternative perspective, whereas the children in the control condition did not. Children with higher cognitive scores had higher memory reframing scores and received higher social competence ratings than children with lower cognitive scores.

Do Overgeneral Memories Make us feel better? An experimental examination

ABSTRACT A critical assumption of the CaR-FA-X model, that overgeneral memory is partly attributable to the “functional avoidance” of specific details about one’s past experiences, has not been experimentally tested. Further, while it is assumed that the reinforcing properties of said avoidance leads to the emergence of an overgeneral recall style over time, this question has not been addressed developmentally. To explore these issues, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, 41 children and adolescents (Mage = 12 years) were randomly assigned to recall overgeneral or specific negative memories on the Autobiographical Memory Test; participants later listened to their memories and provided pre- and post-tests of their emotional states at four time points: before and after memory generation and before and after memory exposure. In Study 2, 52 college-aged participants (Mage = 19 years) completed the same protocol. Results indicated that children and adolescents in the overgeneral condition reported higher levels of positive affect relative to those in the specific condition, while recall condition did not impact adults’ emotional states. These findings were not explained by differences in emotion regulation strategies or psychopathological symptoms. Implications for developmental models of autobiographical memory and emotion regulation are discussed.