Anne S. Rasmussen

Emotional valence and the functions of autobiographical memories: positive and negative memories serve different functions.

Differences between positive and negative autobiographical memories are often explained with reference to hypothesized evolutionary functions. Generally, it has been proposed that autobiographical memory serves directive, self-, and social functions. However, the relationship between emotional valence and the three functions has never been studied. In Study 1, participants generated memories that mapped onto each of the three functions. Directive memories were dominated by negative emotion, whereas self- and social memories were dominated by positive emotion. In Study 2, participants generated their most positive and most negative memories, as well as their most frequent involuntary and most vivid flashbulb memories, and the three functions were measured through rating-scale questions. The directive function had the lowest ratings across all memory classes, but, consistent with the results of Study 1, positive memories were rated higher on the self- and social functions, whereas negative memories were rated higher on the directive function.

The functions of autobiographical memory: An integrative approach

Recent research in cognitive psychology has emphasised the uses, or functions, of autobiographical memory. Theoretical and empirical approaches have focused on a three-function model: autobiographical memory serves self, directive, and social functions. In the reminiscence literature other taxonomies and additional functions have been postulated. We examined the relationships between functions proposed by these literatures, in order to broaden conceptualisations and make links between research traditions. In Study 1 we combined two measures of individual differences in the uses of autobiographical memory. Our results suggested four classes of memory functions, which we labelled Reflective, Generative, Ruminative, and Social. In Study 2 we tested relationships between our four functions and broader individual differences, and found conceptually consistent relationships. In Study 3 we found that memories cued by Generative and Social functions were more emotionally positive than were memories cued by Reflective and Ruminative functions. In Study 4 we found that reported use of Generative functions increased across the lifespan, while reported use of the other three functions decreased. Overall our findings suggest a broader view of autobiographical memory functions that links them to ways in which people make meaning of their selves, their environment, and their social world more generally.

The unpredictable past: Spontaneous autobiographical memories outnumber autobiographical memories retrieved strategically

Involuntary autobiographical memories are spontaneously arising memories of personal events, whereas voluntary memories are retrieved strategically. Voluntary remembering has been studied in numerous experiments while involuntary remembering has been largely ignored. It is generally assumed that voluntary recall is the standard way of remembering, whereas involuntary recall is the exception. However, little is known about the actual frequency of these two types of remembering in daily life. Here, 48 Danish undergraduates recorded their involuntary versus voluntary autobiographical memories during a day using a mechanical counter. Involuntary memories were reported three times as frequently as voluntary memories. Compared to voluntary memories, they were associated less with problem solving and social sharing and more with day dreaming, periods of boredom, no reasons for remembering and predominantly came to mind during unfocused attention. The findings suggest that involuntary recall is a typical way of accessing the personal past.

The reality of the past versus the ideality of the future: emotional valence and functional differences between past and future mental time travel

Mental time travel (MTT) is the ability to mentally project oneself backward or forward in time in order to remember an event from one’s personal past or to imagine a possible event in one’s personal future. Past and future MTT share many similarities, and there is evidence to suggest that the two temporal directions rely on a shared neural network and similar cognitive structures. At the same time, one major difference between past and future MTT is that future as compared to past events generally are more emotionally positive and idyllic, suggesting that the two types of event representations may also serve different functions for emotion, self, and behavioral regulation. Here, we asked 158 participants to remember one positive and one negative event from their personal past as well as to imagine one positive and one negative event from their potential personal future and to rate the events on phenomenological characteristics. We replicated previous work regarding similarities between past and future MTT. We also found that positive events were more phenomenologically vivid than negative events. However, across most variables, we consistently found an increased effect of emotional valence for future as compared to past MTT, showing that the differences between positive and negative events were larger for future than for past events. Our findings support the idea that future MTT is biased by uncorrected positive illusions, whereas past MTT is constrained by the reality of things that have actually happened.

Factor structure of overall autobiographical memory usage: The directive, self and social functions revisited

According to theory, autobiographical memory serves three broad functions of overall usage: directive, self, and social. However, there is evidence to suggest that the tripartite model may be better conceptualised in terms of a four-factor model with two social functions. In the present study we examined the two models in Danish and German samples, using the Thinking About Life Experiences Questionnaire (TALE; Bluck, Alea, Habermas, & Rubin, 2005), which measures the overall usage of the three functions generalised across concrete memories. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor model and rejected the theoretical three-factor model in both samples. The results are discussed in relation to cultural differences in overall autobiographical memory usage as well as sharing versus non-sharing aspects of social remembering.

Personality traits and autobiographical memory: Openness is positively related to the experience and usage of recollections

We examined the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality and the experience and overall usage of autobiographical memory in two studies. In both studies we found that Openness was related to the directive and self functions of overall usage. In addition, Openness was related to the vividness, reliving, coherence, and centrality of event to the persons identity and life story of concrete memories in Study 2, whereas this was not found in Study 1. For the remaining “Big Five” personality traits the results were less consistent across studies. Neuroticism was related to the self function in Study 1, but also to the directive function as well as to negative affect of concrete memories in Study 1. Extraversion was positively related to the social function as well as to conversational rehearsal of memories in Study 1, but this was also not replicated in Study 2. Finally, in both studies there were no significant relationships with regard to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Overall, the findings replicate and extend previous work showing a positive relationship between Openness and the experience and overall usage of autobiographical memory, whereas the roles for the remaining “Big Five” are less clear.

Spontaneous or intentional? Involuntary versus voluntary episodic memories in older and younger adults.

Involuntary episodic memories are memories of past events that come to mind with no preceding attempt of retrieval. Such memories have received little attention in relation to aging compared with voluntary episodic memories (i.e., intentionally retrieved memories of past events). It is well documented that older compared with younger adults have reduced access to episodic memories, when retrieval is voluntary, but little is known about their involuntary episodic recall. Recent evidence suggests that involuntary autobiographical memories are at least as frequent as voluntary autobiographical memories in daily life, but this research has been limited to younger adults. Here older and younger adults recorded involuntary and voluntary episodic memories in relation to a film of a simulated event (Study 1) and during a normal day in their lives (Study 2). Across both studies, no age differences were found regarding the frequency of involuntary episodic memories, whereas older adults showed slower (Study 1) and less frequent (Study 2) voluntary remembering compared with younger adults. The findings suggest that involuntary relative to voluntary episodic remembering is enhanced in older adults, consistent with reduced executive functioning and increased processing of task irrelevant information with aging. Involuntary episodic remembering may provide an adaptive compensation for reductions in strategic retrieval in later adulthood.

The structure of past and future events in borderline personality disorder, eating disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder.

The narrative structure and episodic richness of self-generated past and future events were examined in patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), eating disorder (ED), and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), respectively, and compared with a nonclinical control group. The 3 patient groups generated fewer events characterized by a classic narrative structure, with the event narrative building up to a high point followed by an evaluation. The narrative structures demonstrated by the BPD and ED groups were most deviant from the control group in terms of more frequently involving an impoverished narrative structure for past events and in terms of generating fewer future events with specific episodic contents. These deficits were more marked in the BPD group. The findings show that the ability to construct coherent past and future events is compromised across clinical diagnoses, but more so in patients diagnosed with BPD.