ABSTRACT
Simulation - imagining future events - plays a role in decision-making. In Conviction Narrative Theory, people's emotional responses to their simulations inform their choices. Yet imagining one possible future also increases its plausibility and accessibility relative to other futures. We propose that the act of simulation, in addition to affective evaluation, drives people to choose in accordance with their simulations.
Subject(s)
Choice Behavior , Emotions , Humans , Emotions/physiology , ForecastingABSTRACT
The lifetime temporal distribution of older adults' autobiographical memories peaks during the transitional period of late adolescence and early adulthood, a phenomenon known as the reminiscence bump. This age-specific memory enhancement suggests that transitions may provide a more general organizing structure for autobiographical memory. To test this hypothesis, we examined how older adults' memories of events that occurred between the ages of 40 and 60 were distributed around residential relocations occurring within this same time frame. The temporal distribution of memories showed a marked relocation bump around the age of the most important residential move. Although previous research has focused on the negative effects of relocation, the current findings suggest that transitions could have a positive effect on autobiographical memory. (PsycINFO Database Record