The Influence of Instructional Constraints and Cognitive Control on the Positivity Bias and the Positivity Effect in Autobiographical Memory.

The positivity effect and the positivity bias were examined in voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memories in a sample of younger (n = 69, Mage = 23.2) and older adults (n = 57, Mage = 67.72). The positivity effect has been shown to be sensitive to instructional constraints and cognitive resources. Instructions were manipulated in the voluntary autobiographical memory condition such that participants were instructed to retrieve memories with different levels of constraints. Participants also completed two measures of cognitive control and an assessment of future time perspective. There was no evidence of the positivity effect or positivity bias once depressive symptoms were included as a covariate in the analyses, nor did cognitive control influence memory valence. Future time perspective did not mediate the relationship between age and memory valence. These results suggest that additional research should focus on potential variables that may influence the positivity effect and bias within autobiographical memories.

Do childhood experiences influence associations between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and positive autobiographical memories among military veteran students? An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Evidence links posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and features of positive autobiographical memories (accessibility, vividness, coherence, sharing, emotional intensity, distancing). There is a knowledge gap on how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) may influence these relationships. OBJECTIVES: The current study explored whether the number ACEs or BCEs moderated associations between PTSD symptom severity and features of positive autobiographical memories. DESIGN AND METHODS: The sample included 124 student military veterans who had experienced a trauma (Mage = 33.90; 77.4% male; 75.0% White). RESULTS: Path analyses showed more PTSD symptom severity was significantly associated with less positive autobiographical memory vividness (ß = -0.26, p = .019, R2 = 0.06). Further, the number of ACEs moderated the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and positive autobiographical memory accessibility (ß = -0.25, p = .023, R2 = 0.10) and vividness (ß = -0.20, p = .024, R2 = 0.10). Among individuals with more ACEs (1 SD above the mean) compared to those with fewer ACEs (1 SD below the mean), less accessibility and vividness of positive autobiographical memories was associated with greater PTSD symptom severity. The number of BCEs was not a significant moderator. CONCLUSIONS: Positive memory-based interventions may be particularly useful to address PTSD symptoms among military veterans with a history of childhood adversity.

Young adults' personal and relationship memories: recollections of self, siblings, and family.

We investigated the phenomenological and narrative characteristics of young adults' self- and other-related memories within the context of significant relationships. We also examined whether participants' gender and/or gender concordance between participants and their siblings was associated with autobiographical memory characteristics. We collected data from 108 college students who had only one sibling. All participants provided narratives in response to three memory prompts (i.e., self-related, sibling-related, and family-related) and rated their memories along dimensions such as significance, emotional valence, clarity etc. The narratives were coded on thematic content, transformativeness, mentions of others, and event type dimensions. Results revealed differences between self-related memories and sibling- and family-related memories across several dimensions. However, sibling-related and family-related memories were mostly similar to each other. No statistically significant gender or gender concordance differences were observed. Further exploratory analysis showed that memory narratives describing extended events were more transformative than single event narratives. The findings enhance our understanding about the self-in-relation to others through relationship memories.

A comprehensive guide to research protocols for collecting and coding involuntary past and future thoughts.

The paper presents a comprehensive guide for researchers investigating mind-wandering and related phenomena such as involuntary past and future thinking. Examining such spontaneous cognitions presents a challenge requiring not only the use of appropriate laboratory-based procedures, but also the coding of complex qualitative data. This guide outlines two main stages of existing research protocols: data acquisition and data coding. For the former, we introduce an easily modifiable computerized version of the vigilance task, designed for broad application in studies focusing on eliciting and measuring involuntary thoughts in controlled laboratory conditions. Regarding data preparation and coding, we provide a detailed step-by-step procedure for categorizing and coding different types of thoughts, involving both participants and competent judges. Additionally, we address some of the difficulties that may arise during this categorization and coding process. The guide is supplemented by a clip demonstrating the main part of the experimental procedure and a step-by-step example of the subsequent data processing stages. We anticipate that this research guide will not only assist a broader group of researchers interested in investigating spontaneous cognition, but will also inspire future studies on spontaneous cognition and related phenomena.•There is a need for standardized approaches to working with qualitative data when investigating spontaneous thoughts.•The paper outlines a comprehensive protocol for collecting and coding involuntary past and future-oriented thoughts.•The paper also presents a detailed step-by-step procedure for data preparation and coding to categorize different types of thoughts, involving both participants and competent judges.

The reminiscence bump and the self: evidence from five studies on positive and negative memories.

A plethora of studies have shown that people persistently remember public and personal events experienced during adolescence and early adulthood, particularly with a positive valence. In five studies, we investigate the reminiscence bump (RB) for positive and negative memories of public events (Studies 1 and 2), private events (Study 3), music-related events (Study 4), and cross-cultural memory differences (i.e., China and US) (Study 5). Participants retrieved either one positive or one negative memory, indicated their Age of Encoding, and provided secondary measures, i.e., memory vividness and rehearsal (Studies 1 and 3) and emotional intensity (Studies 2 and 4). About 10,000 memories were collected and positive memories appeared generally older than negative recollections, but the RB emerged for both positive and negative memories. Furthermore, the peak was earlier for positive memories of public events (<15 years old) than for negative memories (20-40 years), while no differences were found for private events or music-related experiences (15-25 years). Chinese had their RB later than US respondents. Finally, autobiographical recollections have moderate to low associations with secondary measures of phenomenological features of memory. These findings are consistent with the identity-formation theory, providing additional and important information on the development of the Self.

The effects of eye movements on the content and characteristics of unpleasant autobiographical memories: an extended replication study.

Experimental studies show that vividness and emotionality of aversive memories decrease after recall with eye movements. We aimed at replicating this finding. Relatedly, consistent with Conway's view that memory retrieval is constructive, we examined changes in the content of the memories. If eye movements render a memory less aversive, it may be avoided less, stimulating recall and increasing the opportunity to infer (contextual) details. Two experiments (N = 97 and N = 250) examined whether eye movements affect the number of central and peripheral memory details and characteristics. Female undergraduate students were randomly allocated to either eye movements with recall (EM) or recall only (RO). Before and after the experimental task, participants rated the vividness and emotionality, provided a detailed description and evaluated other memory characteristics. We replicated earlier findings that vividness (both experiments) and emotionality (experiment 2) were reduced more after EM compared to RO. However, conditions did not statistically significantly differ with respect to content details and other memory characteristics. Overall, findings support the idea that eye movements decrease the experience of the memory as vivid and emotional. Results are inconclusive regarding the idea that eye movements alter the number of recalled central and peripheral memory details.

For better or for worse? Memories and mental health related to COVID-19 lockdowns in adolescents with Attention Deficit Disorders.

PURPOSE: In adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD, ICD-10 defined) we examined self-reported well-being, depressive symptoms and autobiographical memories from the first COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark in comparison to adolescents without an ADHD diagnosis. METHODS: Data from 16 adolescents with ADHD and 16 non-ADHD age and gender matched controls were collected between September 2020 and April 2021. Questionnaires included the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ), and an autobiographical memory survey assessing a lockdown memory, a memory not related to lockdown and a future projection. Mixed design ANOVAs were used to compare within subject differences in memory types across groups and independent sample t-tests were used to compare group differences. RESULTS: Three adolescents with ADHD scored below the WHO-5 cut-off (< 50) and above the SMFQ cut-off (> 8) indicating risk of depression, compared to two in the control group. Both groups rated lockdown memories as less positive and more negative and reported feeling more sad and worried when reminiscing about lockdown experiences compared to 'other personal memories' and 'future projections'. Compared to the non-ADHD controls, adolescents with ADHD reported more sadness, t(30) = -0.2.45, p < .05 and worries t(30) = -3.84, p < .001 when reminiscing about the lockdown. CONCLUSIONS: Even though there were no striking differences between groups in the assessments on risk of depression, the findings suggest that adolescents diagnosed with ADHD were more negatively affected when recalling memories about the lockdown compared to their peers.

The Effects of the Processing of Positive Memories Technique on Posttrauma Affect and Cognitions Among Survivors of Trauma: Protocol for a Daily Diary Study.

BACKGROUND: The Processing of Positive Memories Technique (PPMT) is a promising new treatment approach for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which involves detailed narration and processing of specific positive autobiographical memories. Indeed, preliminary case-series studies have found reductions in PTSD symptoms, negative affect, and negative cognitions among survivors of trauma who have received PPMT. However, PPMT's effects have not been investigated at the daily level. In this study, we describe the protocol for a study that will examine the daily-level impacts of PPMT in a trauma-exposed, nonclinical community sample. OBJECTIVE: This study uses an innovative research protocol that combines case-series design and daily diary approaches to examine changes in daily affect, daily cognitions, and daily PTSD symptoms pre- and post-PPMT. We hypothesize that at the daily level, in comparison to their own pre-PPMT levels, following the PPMT intervention, participants will report (1) a lower count of endorsed daily PTSD symptoms, (2) increases in daily positive affect and decreases in daily negative affect, (3) increases in positive affect reactivity to daily positive events, and (4) decreases in daily posttrauma cognitions. METHODS: We are currently recruiting participants (target n=70) from a metroplex in the southwest United States. Following a screening survey, eligible participants complete a preintervention baseline survey, followed by 21 daily surveys in their natural environments. Then, they receive 4 PPMT sessions on a weekly basis. After the conclusion of the PPMT intervention, participants complete a postintervention outcome survey and 21 daily surveys. To compare daily affect, daily cognitions, and daily PTSD symptoms before and after PPMT, we will use the daily diary report data and conduct multilevel random intercepts and slopes linear regression models. RESULTS: Data collection was initiated in March 2022 and is expected to end by June 2024. As of November 28, 2023, a total of 515 participants had consented to the study in the screening phase. No analyses will be conducted until data collection has been completed. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings could clarify whether deficits in positive autobiographical memory processes may also characterize PTSD alongside deficits in traumatic memory processes. Furthermore, PPMT could be an additional therapeutic tool for clinicians to help clients reduce posttraumatic distress in their everyday lives. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/51838.

Direct retrieval as a theory of involuntary autobiographical memories: evaluation and future directions.

I evaluate the conception of direct retrieval as originally formulated in the Self-Memory System model (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce [2000]. The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system. Psychological Review, 107(2), 261-288. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.107.2.261). In the hierarchical memory organisation proposed in the Self-Memory System model, direct retrieval is described as a bottom-up associative process. While its theoretical role within this model is clear, systematic empirical examination of direct retrieval, viewed as a natural and observable phenomenon, has been hampered by inconsistent operationalisations. Here, I suggest that direct retrieval should be treated as a theoretical concept, aiming at explaining the phenomenon of involuntary (spontaneously arising) autobiographical memories. I evaluate predictions derived from the concept of direct retrieval against findings on involuntary autobiographical memories obtained over the past 25 years. Most of these predictions are consistent with the evidence, notably, the enhanced episodic specificity and constructive nature of involuntary autobiographical memories. However, the theory also has critical limitations. It did not predict the frequent occurrence of involuntary recollections in daily life, exceeding the prevalence of voluntary memories. Additionally, it overlooked the early emergence of spontaneously arising event memories in ontogenesis and their presence in other species, such as great apes. Future advancements of the Self-Memory System model should integrate evolutionary perspectives to address these limitations.

Self- and other-focused autobiographical memories of life story events across cultures.

Autobiographical memory and personal life stories are typically conceived as memories about the self. However, personal life stories often contain information about important events from other people's lives. Sometimes those memories become an important part of our own life stories, illuminating the role that other people play in remembering our personal past. In this study, we examined the extent to which memories of important life story events are self-focused (e.g., I moved to Japan) or other-focused (e.g., My child graduated from college). Participants from Mexico, Greenland, China, Denmark and the United States recalled and dated seven autobiographical memories of important personal life story events. Participants also rated the memories for importance and emotional valence. The memories were coded as self- or other-focused. Participants recalled mainly self-focused memories. However, Danish and Chinese participants recalled about 20% other-focused memories. Danish participants recalled negative events about their parents, whereas Chinese participants recalled positive events about their children. Self-focused and other-focused memories differed in their emotional valence and lifespan distribution, but not in importance. The findings show that individuals remember other-focused memories and also incorporate them into their own personal life stories. Conceptual implications for autobiographical memory are discussed.

Neural modulation enhancement using connectivity-based EEG neurofeedback with simultaneous fMRI for emotion regulation.

Emotion regulation plays a key role in human behavior and overall well-being. Neurofeedback is a non-invasive self-brain training technique used for emotion regulation to enhance brain function and treatment of mental disorders through behavioral changes. Previous neurofeedback research often focused on using activity from a single brain region as measured by fMRI or power from one or two EEG electrodes. In a new study, we employed connectivity-based EEG neurofeedback through recalling positive autobiographical memories and simultaneous fMRI to upregulate positive emotion. In our novel approach, the feedback was determined by the coherence of EEG electrodes rather than the power of one or two electrodes. We compared the efficiency of this connectivity-based neurofeedback to traditional activity-based neurofeedback through multiple experiments. The results showed that connectivity-based neurofeedback effectively improved BOLD signal change and connectivity in key emotion regulation regions such as the amygdala, thalamus, and insula, and increased EEG frontal asymmetry, which is a biomarker for emotion regulation and treatment of mental disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression and coherence among EEG channels. The psychometric evaluations conducted both before and after the neurofeedback experiments revealed that participants demonstrated improvements in enhancing positive emotions and reducing negative emotions when utilizing connectivity-based neurofeedback, as compared to traditional activity-based and sham neurofeedback approaches. These findings suggest that connectivity-based neurofeedback may be a superior method for regulating emotions and could be a useful alternative therapy for mental disorders, providing individuals with greater control over their brain and mental functions.

Processing negative autobiographical memories in a foreign language.

The use of a foreign language has been introduced in the clinical setting as a form of emotional distance to help deal with negative experiences. However, the evidence of foreign language reducing emotionality during processing negative events is still scarce. This study aims to test whether the description and processing of a traumatic or highly emotional event in a foreign language could modulate the strength of the connection between traumatic symptomatology and emotional reaction. For this purpose, a sample of 128 healthy participants completed a series of questionnaires via an online platform. Firstly, their levels of distress, arousal and valence were assessed in their native language. Secondly, they were assigned to either the native language or the foreign language group and described a negative childhood event in the assigned language (English or Spanish), followed by five questions for processing the event. Next, their emotionality was assessed again in their native language. Finally, a questionnaire of traumatic stress symptoms and an avoidance scale were completed. Results showed that the relationship between traumatic symptomatology and emotionality was moderated by the language of processing the negative event. Specifically, traumatic symptomatology was more strongly associated with distress and arousal change when the processing task was performed in the native language. These findings suggest the influence of a foreign language on emotional reactivity when a negative experience is processed, which could be an essential tool in the treatment of disorders related to stress and trauma.

The Role of Childhood Experiences in the Development of Disgust Sensitivity: A Preliminary Study on Early Moral Memories.

Objective: Disgust is a basic emotion evolved to safeguard our omnivorous species from contagion. Although the factors eliciting disgust typically involve concerns related to physical contamination, physical disgust responses are also prompted by moral transgressions, (i.e. cannibalism, pedophilia, betrayal). The link between the general propensity to experience disgust (i.e. "Disgust Sensitivity") and morality, in particular in the deontological domain, is supported by an increasing amount of data on clinical and non-clinical sample. Evolutionistic explanations of this link posit that disgust evolved to indicate the presence of a threat to the integrity of the individual not only in the physical domain but also in the social and moral domain.In addition to the evolutionary point of view, this link could also be better investigated in terms of individual development. To the best of our knowledge, literature is scarce regarding which early experiences are associated to high DS. Therefore, this study aims to explore the content of early memories associated with disgust. Based on the strict link between disgust and morality, we hypothesized an association between DS and early memories of moral criticism. Method: 60 non-clinical participants filled in measures of DS. They were then presented with an auditory disgust induction, after which they recalled early memories through the technique of the "affect bridge". 10 independent raters assessed the emotional content of the memories on visual-analogical scales. Results: Results showed a positive association between disgust sensitivity and the propensity to experience deontological guilt. There was also a significant positive association between disgust sensitivity and moral memories, in particular relating to early experiences of being the object of contempt, moral criticism, anger, and of being held responsible. Conclusions: These data directly support the centrality of early morally-loaded interpersonal experiences in the development of DS, confirming the link between disgust and morality also at the level of individual historical development.

Neural bases of motivated forgetting of autobiographical memories.

It is important for mental health to be able to control unwanted intrusive memories. Previous studies suggest that middle frontal gyrus (MFG) down regulates pathways underlie the suppression of retrieval of general memories. However, the neural basis of motivated forgetting of autobiographical memories is unclear. Therefore, this study used two samples to explore the neural mechanisms of motivated forgetting of self-referential memories. Every participant provided 40 life events (20 negative and 20 neutral) from their past personal experience, and then completed the Think/No-Think task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The first sample showed a significant reduction in recall in the No-Think condition relative to the Think condition. Attempting to exclude negative autobiographical memories from awareness was associated with increased activity in the right MFG, superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), while reduced activity was observed in the bilateral Brodmann areas BA18 and BA19, bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), bilateral precuneus, bilateral post cingulate cortex (PCC), the left parahippocampus, and the left hippocampus. Functional connectivity analyses showed that the right MFG projected into the bilateral mPFC, bilateral precuneus, and bilateral middle occipital gyrus (MOG) for negative autobiographical memories. The second sample replicated the results of the first sample at both the behavioral and brain levels. These results suggest that retrieval suppression of autobiographical memories involve the pathway between the MFG and the mPFC and precuneus to exclude self-referential memories. These results reveal how people engage in motivated forgetting of negative events in their daily lives.

Mood regulation upon remembering open memories.

ABSTRACTOpen autobiographical memories are personal life experiences on which an individual does not have closure. It is unknown whether emotion regulation strategies through recalling positive memories are active after recalling open memories. The current study aims to explore the presence of emotion regulation for open memories while testing for the interference of depressive tendencies. The participants were asked to remember an open memory and answer questions on phenomenological features of this event. Later, they recalled a memory without any restrictions and answered similar phenomenological questions. The results showed that the subsequent memories were significantly more closed, more positive, and less intense during retrieval than open memories. Additionally, open memories were reported as involuntarily rehearsed more frequently than the subsequent memories. Depressive tendencies were unrelated to emotion regulation after open memory recall. This study provides insight into the emotion regulation strategies after remembering open memories and how depression could be related to this strategy.

The effect of imagery rescripting on core beliefs and eating disorder symptoms in a subclinical population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self-compassion, imagery rescripting focusing on mastery, and a positive memory control condition on (1) emotional responses towards the memory (one day after), (2) changes in the believability of negative core beliefs, and dysfunctional eating behaviors (one week after) in individual at risk for developing an eating disorder. METHODS: Female participants (N = 69) were allocated to one of three conditions: ImRs focusing on self-compassion (N = 24), ImRs focusing on self-mastery (N = 23), and positive memory control condition (N = 22). Participants in the ImRs conditions received a 20-min self-guided ImRs intervention, whereas participants in the control condition received a 20-min self-guided task focusing on an unrelated positive memory. RESULTS: The experimental manipulation successfully induced the use of self-compassion and mastery strategies in the respective imagery rescripting condition. However, our data show that a single 20-min session of self-guided imagery rescripting focusing on compassion and/or mastery has no effect on the emotional response towards the aversive memory or in the change of core beliefs and eating behaviors at follow up. LIMITATIONS: We discuss potential reasons for the null findings, including the use of a single imagery rescripting session, the sample size and the measurement of manipulation checks. CONCLUSION: Future studies are needed to rule out methodological explanations for the null results. These findings may be of value for the development of future experimental lab paradigms which aim to evaluate the causal effects and working mechanisms of imagery rescripting.

The cognitive characteristics of music-evoked autobiographical memories: Evidence from a systematic review of clinical investigations.

In healthy adults, autobiographical memories (AMs) evoked by music appear to have unique cognitive characteristics that set them apart from AMs evoked by other cues. If this is the case, we might expect music cues to alleviate AM deficits in clinical disorders. This systematic review examines music-evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs) in clinical populations, focusing on cognitive characteristics, and whether MEAMs differ from AMs evoked by other stimuli. We identified 15 studies featuring participants with Alzheimer's disease (AD), behavioral variant - Frontotemporal dementia (bv-FTD), acquired brain damage, and depression. We found that music evokes AMs in these disorders, and that familiar music was more likely to evoke AMs. Compared with healthy controls, AD participants had a relative advantage for MEAMs over picture-evoked AMs. People with damage to the medial prefrontal cortex showed preserved access to MEAMs in terms of frequency, but a relative disadvantage regarding the episodic richness for MEAMs, but not for memories cued by pictures, compared to controls. Participants with bv-FTD had fewer AMs evoked after both music and pictures than healthy controls. Across conditions, MEAMs were generally specific and retrieved fast, suggesting little retrieval effort. MEAMs were also positive, except in depression, where as many negative as positive AMs were produced. These findings suggest several underlying cognitive and affective mechanisms of MEAMs, including anxiety reduction, increased fluency, music-evoked emotions, reminiscence, and involuntary retrieval, and that these might be moderated by musical abilities and memory for music. In conclusion, MEAMs appear to be relatively well preserved, especially in AD. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Memory.

Themes of trust, identity, intimacy, and generativity in important autobiographical memories: Associations with life periods and life satisfaction.

INTRODUCTION: Guided by Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, the present study investigated whether themes of trust, identity, intimacy, and generativity are represented in older adults' most important autobiographical memories. Furthermore, we tested whether these themes are associated with certain life periods and whether having important memories (i.e., life story) that reflect developmental themes and are evaluated as positive is associated with life satisfaction. METHODS: One hundred and twelve (59.8% female) older adults (61-92 years, M = 70.96, SD = 6.81) reported up to 15 important autobiographical memories. Participants rated each memory according to the themes of trust/mistrust, identity/confusion, intimacy/isolation, and generativity/stagnation. RESULTS: Using multilevel multinomial logistic regression, we found childhood memories to be associated with trust, memories from participants' youth with identity and intimacy, and adulthood memories with intimacy and generativity. Moreover, participants who rated their autobiographical memories (i.e., life story) as high in reflecting themes and, at the same time, perceived their memories as more positive showed higher levels of life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Important autobiographical memories reflect how an individual became the person of today. They refer to age-related themes of psychosocial development and are associated with a person's life satisfaction if they are also considered as emotionally more positive.

A multilevel factor analysis of the short form of the Centrality of Event Scale.

Introduction: The Centrality of Event Scale (CES) has frequently been used to measure the degree to which positive and negative life events are perceived central to a person's identity and life story; and previous research suggests that individuals rate their most positive memory as more central compared to their most negative one. When comparing the centrality of two (or more) memories within individuals, one needs to ensure that the CES (or its short form) is equally valid for different types of events (i.e., positive and negative) as well as on different levels of analyses (i.e., on the between-person and the within-person level), pointing to the issue of measurement invariance. Methods: Three-hundred sixty-five adults (18-89 years of age) reported up to ten positive and up to ten negative autobiographical memories. For each memory reported, participants completed the seven-item short form of the CES, which measures three different components of centrality: Events can form a central component of identity (two items), a turning point in the life story (three items), and a reference point for everyday inferences (two items). Results: Based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we found a two-factor structure (Self-Perception and Life-Course) to fit the data best at both levels of analyses and for both positive and negative events. Strict measurement invariance could be applied for positive and negative events at between-person level and at within-person level. The two factors, which measure the impact of an event on either a person's self-perception or their (future) life course, were rated higher for positive compared to negative memories. This difference, however, was stronger for the self-perception factor. Discussion: The present study provides a first examination of the factorial structure of the CES short form on two levels (within and between persons) as well as for two types of life events (positive and negative). Whereas, a unidimensional scale might be sufficient to measure the centrality of stressful or traumatic life events, a more fine-graded measure seems better suited to understand the different roles of positive and negative life events for a person's identity and life story.