Sampling autobiographical memory reports in adolescents.

28 college students (CSs) and 28 young adolescents (As) were presented with single-word prompts to elicit autobiographical memories. Ss' memories were then used as stimuli to collect additional memories. CSs but not As responded more slowly to affective prompts than to action prompts. Also, As made more frequent use of a same-event strategy in reporting 2nd memories than did CSs, who more frequently responded to a single feature of the original memory. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and memory narrative type.

Research with autobiographical memories has distinguished between memory narratives of specific events and summaries of many events blended together. Depression has been associated with a reduced ability to retrieve and orally relate specific positive memories. This study explored the hedonic bias in memory through collection of written autobiographical memories from 90 nonclinical college students whose mood was assessed for depression. Participants with higher depression scores recalled significantly more summary memories in response to a request for a positive self-defining memory than did participants with lower depression scores. There were no significant differences in the number of single-event and summary memories when participants were asked for a negative memory. We used J. A. Singer and K. H. Moffitt's (see record 1992-33945-001) scoring system to distinguish between summarized and specific memory narratives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fifty years of memory of college grades: Accuracy and distortions.

One to 54 years after graduating, 276 alumni correctly recalled 3,025 of 3,967 college grades. Omission errors increased with the retention interval, and better students made fewer errors. Accuracy of recall increased with confidence in recall. Eighty-one percent of commission errors inflated the actual grade. Distortions occur soon after graduation, remain constant during the retention interval, and are greater for better students and for courses students enjoyed most. Confidence in recall is unrelated to distortion. Courses that were not freely recalled, but had to be cued, were recalled less accurately and with less distortion. The data support a supplementary theory of memory distortion. The theory assumes that forgetting and distorting memory content are relatively independent processes, that relevant generic memories are used to fill in gaps after episodic memory fails, that systematic distortions affect autobiographical content that is emotionally and motivationally valenced, and that most individuals supplement with content that is emotionally more gratifying than the veridical content. The data conflict with dynamic displacement theories according to which screen memories actively block access to unpleasant veridical content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do children "DRM" like adults? False memory production in children.

The Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm was used to investigate developmental trends in accurate and false memory production. In Experiment 1, DRM lists adjusted to be more consistent with children's vocabulary were used with 2nd graders, 8th graders, and college students. Accurate and false recall and recognition increased with age, but semantic information appeared to be available to all age groups. Experiment 2 created a set of child-generated lists based on the free associations by a group of 3rd graders to critical items. The child-generated associates were different from those generated by adults; long and short versions of the child-generated lists were therefore presented to 2nd, 5th, and 8th graders and college students in Experiment 3. Second graders exhibited few false memories, whereas 5th graders were similar to adults in low-demand conditions and more similar to younger children in high-demand conditions. Findings are discussed in terms of developmental changes in automatic and effortful processing and the use of semantic networks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory, emotion, and REM sleep.

Explored the manner in which REM sleep deprivation might affect various aspects of memory processing. A series of tests, including S. Sternberg's (see record 1966-10810-001) test of scanning of immediate memory, past personal and nonpersonal memory, and past emotional memories, was administered to 8 college students after baseline, control-awakening, and REM-deprivation nights. Results show that only past, emotionally important memories may have been affected by REM deprivation; access to the emotion connected with the memories was decreased. This finding is discussed in relation to a possible function of REM sleep and to the effects of REM deprivation on depression. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defining the boundary: Age-related changes in childhood amnesia.

Childhood amnesia refers to the inability of adults to recall events that occurred during their infancy and early childhood. Although it is generally assumed that children and adolescents also experience childhood amnesia, with limited exceptions, most empirical research on the phenomenon has focused exclusively on adults. Here, we developed a new Timeline procedure to directly compare the early memories reported by children, adolescents, and adults. Overall, the proportion of memories reported before the age of 3 years was greater for the children and adolescents relative to the adults. In addition, the single earliest memory reported by children and adolescents was at a younger age than that reported by adults. In fact, the earliest memories reported by the children and adolescents, but not the adults, were significantly younger than the traditional 3 ?-year-old boundary of childhood amnesia. Regardless of the age of the rememberer, participants' early memories had the same episodic characteristics. We conclude that the boundary and the density of childhood amnesia may increase over the course of human development and that age-related changes in basic memory mechanisms make an important contribution to our understanding of the source of childhood amnesia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Things that go bump in your life: Explaining the reminiscence bump in autobiographical memory.

Two experiments explore the reminiscence bump (RB)—the disproportionately higher recall of early-life memories—by older adults. In Experiment 1, participants in the age ranges of 36–40, 46–50, and 56–60 recalled events freely or under instructions to avoid recent memories. Constraint did not affect older participants but resulted in the appearance of an RB in younger participants. In Experiment 2, recall was constrained to particular life periods. Memories from these periods were compared for ease of retrieval and along subjective dimensions (e.g. vividness). Memories from early life were more easily retrieved, but this was not due to differences in subjective qualities. A higher proportion of memories for first-time events were identified from early life, and these memories were more easily retrievable. The results are discussed in relation to an existing model of autobiographical memory, and a revised model is put forward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnosis as a retrieval cue in posthypnotic amnesia.

Tested the effectiveness of hypnosis as a retrieval cue in a group of 80 highly hypnotizable college students who demonstrated posthypnotic amnesia on an initial recall test. The 40 Ss who received a reinduction of hypnosis showed a significant improvement in memory on a retest; there was a significant loss of memory on a 3rd test following termination of the 2nd hypnosis and a more substantial recovery on a 4th test following administration of a prearranged reversibility cue. Another 40 Ss, who merely relaxed before the 2nd test, showed a similar improvement in memory on the retest but no subsequent memory loss. The amount of trial-to-trial improvement in memory shown by Ss was unaffected by explicit instructions to maintain amnesia until the reversibility cue had been given. It is concluded that posthypnotic amnesia is not a case of state-dependent retention, nor does hypnosis provide retrieval cues that can lead to the emergence of previously unrecalled memories. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the relationship between current attachment status and freely recalled autobiographical memories of childhood.

This study investigated the relationship between individual differences in attachment and the free recall of childhood memories. Specifically, it focuses on how attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, using the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale self-report, relate to the affective quality and the presence of caregivers in memories from childhood. Participants were 79 undergraduate and masters students attending a northeast university. Participants completed a memory task designed to elicit freely recalled memories from childhood. They then rated the affective valence (positive/negative) and intensity of each memory, and identified memories in which caretakers were present. Attachment avoidance was related to recalling more negative memories involving caretakers and was negatively related to the average intensity of memories involving caretakers. The results support and extend previous research suggesting that affect regulation strategies employed by individuals high in attachment anxiety and high in attachment avoidance are linked to differences in how information about the past is recalled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissism, affect, and gender: An empirical examination of Kernberg's and Kohut's theories of narcissism.

The activation of narcissistically affirming and disaffirming early memories were used to assess Kernberg's and Kohut's propositions regarding the roles of hostile, depressive, and positive affect in narcissistic character structures. After completing the Narcissistic Personality Inventory participants wrote either an early memory of pride, an early memory of shame, an unspecified memory, or no memory before completing the Projective Affect Scale and Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist. ANOVAs were conducted on participants ratings of hostile, depressive, and positive affect. The results indicated that for high relative to low narcissists, prideful and nonspecific memories resulted in less hostility, less pride, and more positive affect. Shameful memories resulted in higher projected hostility for high narcissists. Shame was negatively related to narcissism for males and positively related for females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recalling Spatial Information as a Component of Recently and Remotely Acquired Episodic or Semantic Memories: An fMRI Study.

Activations produced by the recall of episodic and semantic memories differing in spatial content and age were examined. Recall of recent episodic memories with differing spatial content activated the medial temporal lobes and the retrosplenial-posterior cingulate cortex-precuneus complex more than recall of recent semantic memories with similarly differing spatial content. Some of these differences related to the amount of spatial information recalled because spatially richer recent memories, regardless of whether they were episodic or semantic, activated the right posterior parahippocampal cortex, precuneus, and posterior parietal cortex more. This spatial effect was found to be independent of memory age for semantic memories, although some episodic-semantic memory differences, including one in the left hippocampus, were not age independent. Episodic-semantic memory recall activation differences are therefore probably a function of the amount recalled, memory age, and what is recalled, particularly with respect to spatial information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of age on involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memory.

Research on aging and autobiographical memory has focused almost exclusively on voluntary autobiographical memory. However, in everyday life, autobiographical memories often come to mind spontaneously without deliberate attempt to retrieve anything. In the present study, diary and word-cue methods were used to compare the involuntary and voluntary memories of 44 young and 38 older adults. The results showed that older adults reported fewer involuntary and voluntary memories than did younger adults. Additionally, the life span distribution of involuntary and voluntary memories did not differ in young adults (a clear recency effect) or in older adults (a recency effect and a reminiscence bump). Despite these similarities between involuntary and voluntary memories, there were also important differences in terms of the effects of age on some memory characteristics. Thus, older adults’ voluntary memories were less specific and were recalled more slowly than those of young adults, but there were no reliable age differences in the specificity of involuntary memories. Moreover, older adults rated their involuntary memories as more positive than did young adults, but this positivity effect was not found for voluntary memories. Theoretical implications of these findings for research on autobiographical memory and cognitive aging are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nondeliberate memory for a novel event among preschoolers.

This study used naturalistic, yet structured, activities to examine age differences in recognition and recall of nondeliberate memories for novel activities. Thirty-three 3-year-olds and thirty-two 4?-year-olds were individually guided through five activities during a visit to a turn-of-the century playhouse. Either the same day, 1 week, or 8 weeks later, each child ws interviewed to determine memory for the activities and objects used during the activities. Results indicated that there were no age differences in same-day recognition. The findings for recall and retention suggest that age differences for these two memory components are best thought of in terms of the type of memory solicited rather than as a generalized age phenomenon. When memories for objects were the focus of the recall estimates, age differences emerged; when memories for activities within an event were the focus, age differences were diminished. In terms of retention, the younger preschoolers did not always report as many memories, but there was little forgetting of the recalled material for either age group over the 8 weeks. However, the recognition of objects was more susceptible to forgetting, especially among the younger preschoolers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revisiting the past and back to the future: Memory systems and the linguistic representation of social events.

Five studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between how people communicate about social events and how representations of these events are stored in memory. It was hypothesized that more distant events in memory would be described with more abstract linguistic predicates, and recent events with more concrete language. The 1st study supported this hypothesis. The 2nd and 3rd experiments demonstrated that abstract predicates used as prompts elicit memories that are significantly more removed in time than concrete predicates. Two final experiments showed that these outcomes are not merely a function of the type of semantic cue but an interaction between memory and preferential predicate use. The findings illustrate a link between memory and communicative behavior of a type that has not been previously studied. The results are discussed in terms of a recent, well-supported model of 2 separate fast-learning and slow-learning memory systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of behavior and family structure on perceptions.

45 men and 98 women enrolled in a course on adolescents responded to 1 of 9 paragraphs describing a male adolescent meeting with his school counselor. The adolescent's family structure (nuclear, single mother, stepfather) and recent behavior (good, bad, neutral) were varied. Respondents completed the Predicted Behavior of an Adolescent Questionnaire (PBAQ), the First Impressions Questionnaire (FIQ), and an open-ended question asking them to "explain" the adolescent's situation. Although data from the open-ended question indicated that family structure information was influential in forming theories about the adolescent, the results from the PBAQ and the FIQ did not indicate such an influence. It was concluded that college students make subtle judgments about adolescents based on minimal information, but how strongly such judgments affect their perceptions of adolescents and how behavior toward adolescents is affected have yet to be examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memorial consequences of forced confabulation: age differences in susceptibility to false memories

Numerous studies have demonstrated that exposure to misinformation about a witnessed event can lead to false memories in both children and adults. The present study extends this finding by identifying forced confabulation as another potent suggestive influence. Participants from 3 age groups (1st grade, 3rd/4th grade, and college age) viewed a clip from a movie and were "forced" to answer questions about events that clearly never happened in the video they had seen. Despite evidence that participants would not have answered these questions had they not been coerced into doing so, 1 week later participants in all age groups came to have false memories for the details they had knowingly fabricated earlier. The results also showed that children were more prone to this memory error than were adults.     

Language-dependent recall of autobiographical memories.

Two studies of autobiographical memory explored the hypothesis that memories become more accessible when the linguistic environment at retrieval matches the linguistic environment at encoding. In Experiment 1, Russian-English bilinguals were asked to recall specific life experiences in response to word prompts. The results supported the hypothesis of language-dependent recall: Participants retrieved more experiences from the Russian-speaking period of their lives when interviewed in Russian and more experiences from the English-speaking period of their lives when interviewed in English. In Experiment 2, the language of the interview was varied independently from the language of the word prompts. Both variables were found to influence autobiographical recall. These findings show that language at the time of retrieval, like other forms of context, plays a significant role in determining what will be remembered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential memory changes with age: Exact retrieval versus plausible inference.

Conducted 2 experiments on the use of direct retrieval and plausibility memory strategies in elderly and college-age adults. In Exp I, which used an episodic memory task, data were obtained from 49 65–80 yr old college alumni and from 58 college students who had served in a previous study by the 1st author (see record 1983-02731-001). Findings indicate that older Ss effectively used the plausibility strategy but performed more poorly than younger Ss when the direct retrieval strategy was required. Results of Exp II, using 18 college alumni (8 Ss aged 20–31 yrs, 10 Ss aged 64–75 yrs) with a semantic memory task, show that older Ss' accuracy was essentially undistinguishable from that of younger Ss as long as a plausibility judgment process produced the correct response. It is argued that careful inspection is a much more costly process for older adults than it is for young adults but that plausibility judgments and feature overlap processes are equally easy for both age groups. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)