RESUMO
Studies on episodic future thinking (the capacity to simulate possible experiences in one's personal future) have ignored future thinking that extends beyond death. We here examined personal afterlife projections in comparison with autobiographical memories and future projections in Thai (Study 1) and American (Study 2) samples. Participants reported all three types of events and rated their characteristics. In both studies, the characteristics of afterlife events were rated lower than those of memories and future events. Participants who believed in the afterlife generally rated afterlife events higher than non-believers and those who were uncertain, although this effect was most pronounced in Study 2. The content of afterlife events followed religious beliefs in the afterlife, and the majority of afterlife events were expected to take place immediately after death. The findings show that afterlife thoughts demonstrate characteristics that are comparable to memories and episodic future thoughts, and are shaped by religious beliefs.
Assuntos
Imaginação , Memória Episódica , Humanos , IncertezaRESUMO
Abstract We conducted an exploratory study using a survey inquiring on seven topics on how people were reacting to the co-viD-19 pandemic of 2020 aiming to trace a map of symptoms and feelings related to mental health and isolation. 1785 people participated in the survey. Additionally, we applied two psychological scales to analyze depression and stress (prevalent in previous studies). We found that people in isolation during the pandemic presented symptoms related to dissociative disorders, negative affect, and anxiety syndrome. Also, depression and stress had a high prevalence compared to the average rates indicated by the World Health Organisation and the Colombian Ministry of Health. The results indicated an association between depression and stress and being previously diagnosed with a mental health problem, and job and financial situation. Our results highlight the need to design prevention and intervention programmes to reduce the negative consequences of isolation.
Resumen Realizamos un estudio exploratorio utilizando un cuestionario sobre siete temas acerca de cómo las personas reaccionaron a la pandemia del COVID-19 de 2020 con el objetivo de trazar un mapa de los síntomas y sentimientos relacionados con la salud mental y el aislamiento. En la encuesta participaron 1785 personas. Además, aplicamos dos escalas psicológicas para analizar la depresión y el estrés (prevalente en estudios anteriores). Encontramos que las personas aisladas durante la pandemia presentaban síntomas relacionados con trastornos disociativos, afectos negativos y síndrome de ansiedad. Además, la depresión y el estrés tuvieron una alta prevalencia en comparación con las tasas promedio indicadas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud y el Ministerio de Salud de Colombia. Los resultados indicaron una asociación entre la depresión, el estrés y ser diagnosticado previamente con un problema de salud mental y la situación laboral y financiera. Nuestros resultados ponen de relieve la necesidad de disenar programas de prevención e intervención para reducir las consecuencias negativas del aislamiento.
RESUMO
Autobiographical memories play important roles in the development of the self and identity by grounding the self in rich, meaningful experiences. In the present study, we explored whether there is a specific type of autobiographical memories tied to religious belief; namely, belief-related memories. We compared belief-related memories with important and word-cued memories across five religions. We found belief-related memories were characterised as important, positive, intense, vivid, and frequently retrieved. The characteristics of belief-related memories were markedly different from word-cued memories, and they also differed from important memories on several variables. Compared with important memories, belief-related memories were rated as less prevalent, less important, less scripted, and showed a different distribution across the life span. The temporal distributions of belief-related memories varied across religions and showed no reminiscence bump as opposed to important memories and word-cued memories. Our findings suggest belief-related memories form a distinct category of autobiographical memories, consistent with the self being multidimensional and with different types of memories supporting distinct aspects of the self.
