ABSTRACT
Forty-five participants described and rated two events each week during their first term at university. After 3.5 years, we examined whether event characteristics rated in the diary predicted remembering, reliving, and life story importance at the follow-up. In addition, we examined whether ratings of life story importance were consistent across a three year interval. Approximately 60% of events were remembered, but only 20% of these were considered above medium importance to life stories. Higher unusualness, rehearsal, and planning predicted whether an event was remembered 3.5 years later. Higher goal-relevance, importance, emotional intensity, and planning predicted life story importance 3.5 years later. There was a moderate correlation between life story importance rated three months after the diary and rated at the 3.5 year follow-up. The results suggest that autobiographical memory and life stories are governed by different mechanisms and that life story memories are characterized by some degree of stability.
Subject(s)
Emotions/physiology , Goals , Memory, Episodic , Mental Recall/physiology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Personal Narratives as Topic , Time Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
We examined whether past and future negative life story events, compared to past and future positive events, were less likely to be related to life story chapters and situated at a greater temporal distance from the present. We also examined relations between life stories and personality traits. Three hundred ten students and 160 middle-aged adults completed a measure of personality traits and identified chapters as well as past and future events in their life story. All life story components were rated on emotion and age. Negative future events were less likely to be a continuation of chapters and were more temporally distant than positive future events. Extraversion and Conscientiousness were related to more positive life stories, and Neuroticism was related to more negative life stories. This suggests that the life story is positively biased by minimising the negative future, and that the construction of life stories is related to personality traits.
Subject(s)
Aging/psychology , Emotions , Life Change Events , Personality , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Personality Inventory , Time Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
We investigated whether memories are selected for the life story based on event characteristics. Sixty-one students completed weekly diaries over their first term at university. They described, dated and rated two events each week. Three months after the end of the term they completed an unexpected memory test. They recalled three memories from the diary period that were important to their life story. Three randomly selected events scoring low on importance to the life story functioned as control memories. Life story memories were rated higher on goal relevance, emotional intensity, importance and rehearsal in the diary and maintained their higher ratings at the test session, while ratings for control memories dropped off. Life story memories' content was less consistent over time but they were more accurately dated than control memories. The results suggest that event characteristics play an important role for the selection of life story memories.
Subject(s)
Life Change Events , Memory, Episodic , Adult , Denmark , Emotions , Female , Goals , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Practice, Psychological , Records , Students/psychologyABSTRACT
In the present studies it was investigated whether rumination was associated with the phenomenal characteristics of autobiographical memories and future scenarios. In three studies student participants completed questionnaires on rumination and recalled and rated a positive and a negative memory. In Studies 2 and 3 participants also generated and rated a positive and a negative future scenario. Memories were rated on reliving and emotional valence; future scenarios were rated on reliving, emotional valence, and how probable the scenario was. Generally, the results showed that a higher degree of rumination was related to more reliving of negative memories and future scenarios as well as more negative expectations for the future scenarios. These processes may help explain why rumination predicts depression and other types of negative affect.
