Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T12:54:32.815Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Integrative Study of Autobiographical Memory for Positive and Negative Experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2013

Elvira García-Bajos  and
Malen Migueles
Elvira García-Bajos*
Affiliation:
Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU (Spain)
Malen Migueles
Affiliation:
Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Elvira García-Bajos. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU. Avda. Tolosa 70. 20018. San Sebastián (Spain). Phone: +34–943015665. Fax: +34–943015670. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study we examined autobiographical memory for emotional experiences from an integrative perspective, analyzing nature, distribution, content and phenomenological assessment of the experiences. Undergraduate students produced positive or negative life experiences, dated them and indicated their emotional level. Afterwards, they chose an experience to narrate, and rated their memory for the experience. The positive and negative experiences were grouped into 14 categories, although most of them fell into four areas: studies, family, friends and couple. The number of positive and negative experiences progressively increased from very few childhood memories to a larger percentage of more recent events. The distribution was equivalent, except during adolescence, in which a greater number of negative than positive experiences were recorded. The negative narratives included more emotional details, references to cognitive processes, mental rehearsal and justifications than the positive narratives. But the positive experiences obtained higher ratings in vividness and sensorial details than the negative experiences.

Keywords

autobiographical memorypositive and negative experiencescontent analysisphenomenological assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E102
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This research was supported by grant PSI2009–09833 from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.

References

Berntsen, D. (2002). Tunnel memories for autobiographical events: Central details are remembered more frequently from shocking than for happy experiences. Memory & Cognition, 30, 1010–1020. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03194319 Google Scholar
Berntsen, D., & Rubin, D. C. (2002). Emotionally charged autobiographical memories across the life span: The recall of happy, sad, traumatic, and involuntary memories. Psychology and Aging, 17, 636–652. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.17.4.636 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berntsen, D., Rubin, D. C., & Siegler, I. C. (2011). Two versions of life: Emotionally native and positive life events have different roles in the organization of life story and identity. Emotion, 11, 1190–1201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024940 Google Scholar
Boals, A., Hathaway, L. M., & Rubin, D. C. (2011). The therapeutic effects of completing autobiographical memory questionnaires for positive and negative events: An experimental approach. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35, 544–549. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10608-011-9412-9 Google Scholar
Bluck, S., & Habermas, T. (2000). The life story schema. Motivation and Emotion, 24, 121–147.Google Scholar
Bohanek, J. G., Fivush, R., & Walker, E. (2005). Memories of positive and negative emotional events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19, 51–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acp.1064 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, L. D., & Wolfner, A. L. (2000). Some characteristics of positive and negative (“most traumatic”) event memories in a college sample. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 1, 45–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J229v01n01_04 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, C. A., Hyman, I. E., & Scott, K. L. (2001). Comparisons of memories for traumatic events and other experiences. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, S119–S133. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acp.837 Google Scholar
Christianson, S. Å., & Loftus, E. F. (1990). Some characteristics of people’s traumatic memories. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 28, 195–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, K. A., Pillemer, D. B., Ivcevic, Z., & Gooze, R. A. (2007). Cultural scripts guide recall of intensely positive life events. Memory & Cognition, 35, 651–659. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03193303 Google Scholar
Conway, M. A. (1996). Autobiographical memory. In Bjork, E. & Bjork, R. A. (Eds.), Memory (pp. 165–194). New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Conway, M. A., & Holmes, A. (2004). Psychosocial stages and the accessibility of autobiographical memories across the life cycle. Journal of Personality, 72, 461–480. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00269.x Google Scholar
Conway, M. A., Singer, J. A., & Tagini, A. (2004). The self and autobiographical memory: Correspondence and coherence. Social Cognition, 22, 491–529. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/soco.22.5.491.50768 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crovitz, H. F., & Schiffman, H. (1974). Frequency of episodic memories as a function of their age. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 4, 517–518.Google Scholar
D’Argembeau, A., Comblain, C., & Van der Linden, M. (2003). Phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories for positive, negative, and neutral events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 281–294. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acp.856 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D’Argembeau, A., & Van der Linden, M. (2004). Phenomenal characteristics associated with projecting oneself back into the past and forward into the future: Influence of valence and temporal distance. Consciousness and Cognition, 13, 844–858. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2004.07.007 Google Scholar
Destun, L. M., & Kuiper, N. A. (1999). Phenomenal characteristics associated with real and imagined events: The effects of event valence and absorption. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, 175–186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(199904)13:2<175::AID-ACP552>3.3.CO;2-N Google Scholar
Jansari, A., & Parkin, A. J. (1996). Things that go bump in your life: Explaining the reminiscence bump in autobiographical memory. Psychology and Aging, 11, 85–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0882-7974.11.1.85 Google Scholar
Leist, A. K., Ferring, D., & Filipp, S.-H. (2010). Remembering positive and negative life events. Associations with future time perspective and functions of autobiographical memory. GeroPsych: The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry, 23, 137–147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000017 Google Scholar
Matlin, M. W., & Stang, D. J. (1978). The Pollyanna Principle. Selectivity in language, memory, and thought. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman.Google Scholar
Pillemer, D. B., Rhinehart, E. D., & White, S. H. (1986). Memories of life transitions: The first year in college. Human Learning, 5, 109–123.Google Scholar
Porter, S., & Birt, A. R. (2001). Is traumatic memory special? A comparison of traumatic memory characteristics with memory for other emotional life experiences. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, S101–S117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acp.766 Google Scholar
Rasmussen, A. S., & Berntsen, D. (2009). Emotional valence and the functions of autobiographical memories: Positive and negative memories serve different functions. Memory & Cognition, 37, 477–492. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/MC.37.4.477 Google Scholar
Rubin, D. C. (1998). Autobiographical memory and aging: Distributions of memories across the life-span and their implications for survey research. In Schwarz, N., Park, D. C., Knäuper, B., & Sudman, S. (Eds.), Cognition, aging and self-reports (pp. 163–183). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Rubin, D. C., Rahhal, T. A., & Poon, L. W. (1998). Things learned in early adulthood are remembered best. Memory & Cognition, 26, 3–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03211366 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, D. C., & Schulkind, M. D. (1997). Distribution of important and word-cued autobiographical memories in 20-, 35-, and 70-year-old adults. Psychology and Aging, 12, 524–535. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0882-7974.12.3.524 Google Scholar
Rubin, D. C., Wetzler, S. E., & Nebes, R. D. (1986). Autobiographical memory across the lifespan. In Rubin, D. C. (Ed.), Autobiographical memory (pp. 202–221). Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schacter, D. L. (1999). The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience. American Psychologist, 54, 182–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.54.3.182 Google Scholar
Schaefer, A., & Philippot, P. (2005). Selective effects of emotion on the phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories. Memory, 13, 148–160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658210344000648 Google Scholar
Schryer, E., & Ross, M. (2012). Evaluating the valence of remembered events: The importance of age and self-relevance. Psychology and Aging, 27, 237–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023283 Google Scholar
Talarico, J. M., Berntsen, D., & Rubin, D. C. (2009). Positive emotions enhance recall of peripheral details. Cognition and Emotion, 23, 380–398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699930801993999 Google Scholar
Tromp, S., Koss, M. P., Figueredo, A. J., & Tharan, M. (1995). Are rape memories different? A comparison of rape, other unpleasant, and peasant memories among employed women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8, 607–627. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02102891 Google Scholar
Walker, W. R., Skowronski, J. J., Gibbons, J. A., Vogl, R. J., & Thompson, C. P. (2003). On the emotions that accompany autobiographical memories: Dysphoria disrupts the fading affect bias. Cognition and Emotion, 17, 703–723. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699930302287 Google Scholar
Walker, W. R., Vogl, R. J., & Thompson, C. P. (1997). Autobiographical memory: Unpleasantness fades faster than pleasantness over time. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11, 399–413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(199710)11:5<399::AID-ACP462>3.3.CO;2–5 Google Scholar
Walls, R. T., Sperling, R. A., & Weber, K. D. (2001). Autobiographical memory of school. Journal of Educational Research, 95, 116–127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220670109596580 Google Scholar
Werner-Seidler, A., & Moulds, M. L. (2012). Mood repair and processing mode in depression. Emotion, 12, 470–478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0025984 Google Scholar
Wessel, I., & Merckelbach, H. (1994). Characteristics of traumatic memories in normal subjects. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22, 315–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1352465800013199 CrossRefGoogle Scholar