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Bouizegarene N, Ramstead MJD, Constant A, Friston KJ, Kirmayer LJ. Narrative as active inference: an integrative account of cognitive and social functions in adaptation. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1345480. [PMID: 38903472 PMCID: PMC11188712 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1345480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
While the ubiquity and importance of narratives for human adaptation is widely recognized, there is no integrative framework for understanding the roles of narrative in human adaptation. Research has identified several cognitive and social functions of narratives that are conducive to well-being and adaptation as well as to coordinated social practices and enculturation. In this paper, we characterize the cognitive and social functions of narratives in terms of active inference, to support the claim that one of the main adaptive functions of narrative is to generate more useful (i.e., accurate, parsimonious) predictions for the individual, as well as to coordinate group action (over multiple timescales) through shared predictions about collective behavior. Active inference is a theory that depicts the fundamental tendency of living organisms to adapt by proactively inferring the causes of their sensations (including their own actions). We review narrative research on identity, event segmentation, episodic memory, future projections, storytelling practices, enculturation, and master narratives. We show how this research dovetails with the active inference framework and propose an account of the cognitive and social functions of narrative that emphasizes that narratives are for the future-even when they are focused on recollecting or recounting the past. Understanding narratives as cognitive and cultural tools for mutual prediction in social contexts can guide research on narrative in adaptive behavior and psychopathology, based on a parsimonious mechanistic model of some of the basic adaptive functions of narrative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabil Bouizegarene
- Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Research Center, Montreal University Institute of Mental Health, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- VERSES Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Constant
- School of Engineering and Informatics, The University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Karl J. Friston
- VERSES Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Laurence J. Kirmayer
- Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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2
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Bilgin E, Adıgüzel Z, Göksun T, Gülgöz S. The cost of changing language context: The language-dependent recall of fictional stories. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:1607-1622. [PMID: 36988855 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01415-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Language-dependent recall refers to the language-specific retrieval of memories in which the retrieval success depends on the match between the languages of encoding and retrieval. The present study investigated language-dependent recall in terms of memory accuracy, false memory, and episodic memory characteristics in the free recall of fictional stories. We also asked how language-dependent memories were influenced by language proficiency and visual imagery. One hundred and thirty-seven native Turkish (L1) speakers who were second-language learners of English (L2) were divided into four groups in which they read fictional stories and then recalled them: (1) Turkish reading-Turkish recall, (2) English reading-English recall, (3) English reading-Turkish recall, (4) Turkish reading-English recall. Regardless of the match between L1 or L2, accuracy was higher when participants read and recalled the stories in the same language than when they did it in different languages, showing the language-dependent recall effect. Notably, the effect of match or mismatch between encoding and retrieval languages on accuracy did not depend on L2 proficiency and visual imagery. In addition, false memories were salient, particularly for participants who read the stories in L2 but retrieved them in L1. Overall, our findings suggest that accuracy-oriented memory research provides a comprehensive investigation of language-dependent recall, addressing the links of language-dependent memories with accuracy, false memory, and episodic memory characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezgi Bilgin
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Culture & Cognition Lab, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | | | - Tilbe Göksun
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sami Gülgöz
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
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3
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Lifespan effects of current age and of age at the time of remembered events on the affective tone of life narrative memories: Early adolescence and older age are more negative. Mem Cognit 2023:10.3758/s13421-023-01401-x. [PMID: 36813991 PMCID: PMC10368566 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01401-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
The affective tone of autobiographical memories may be influenced by age in two ways-by the current age of the remembering individual and by the age of the remembered self at the time of the remembered event. While aging has been associated with more positive autobiographical memories, young adulthood is remembered more positively than other parts of life. We tested whether these effects also show in life story memories and how they act jointly on affective tone; also, we wanted to explore their effects on remembered lifetimes other than early adulthood. We tested effects of current age and age at event on affective tone with brief entire life narratives provided up to five times across 16 years by 172 Germans of both genders, ages 8 to 81 years. Multilevel analyses found an unexpected negativity effect of aging for current age and confirmed a "golden 20s" effect of remembered age. In addition, women told more negative life stories, and affective tone dipped in early adolescence for current age and was remembered as such up to mid-adulthood. Thus, the affective tone of life story memories is jointly influenced by current and remembered age. The absence of a positivity effect in aging is explained by the specific requirements of telling an entire life. We suggest the turmoil of puberty as a reason for the early adolescence dip. Gender differences are potentially explained by differences in narrative style, in depression rates, and in real-life challenges.
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von Spreckelsen P, Wessel I, Glashouwer KA, de Jong PJ. Negative body image and avoidant retrieval of body-related autobiographical memories. Memory 2023; 31:192-204. [PMID: 36269098 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2022.2135734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
People with a negative body image may be more likely to recall negative memories of their body, but also be motivated to avoid retrieving specific memories to prevent triggering aversive emotions (e.g., disgust). Such inclination to retain at a global level of memory recall may hamper the correction of their negative body image. In previous research using Autobiographical Memory Tests (AMTs) with minimal instructions, we failed to find an overgeneral memory bias specific to individuals with a negative body image but observed low specificity overall in response to body cue words. In the present study (N = 153), we included the traditional AMT next to a minimal instructions AMT and explored the idea that sensory reliving may be relevant to avoidance by assessing sensory reliving ratings next to memory specificity. A negative body image was associated with more negative body memories. In both AMTs, the findings failed to support our prediction that a more negative body image would be associated with lower specificity or sensory reliving. The findings are consistent with the view that autobiographical memories might be an important factor in defining one's body image, yet cast doubt on the relevance of avoidant retrieval of body-related memories in non-clinical samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula von Spreckelsen
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Ineke Wessel
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Klaske A Glashouwer
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.,Department of Eating Disorders, Accare Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Peter J de Jong
- Department of Psychology (Expertise Group: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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5
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van Schie CC, Chiu CD, Rombouts SARB, Heiser WJ, Elzinga BM. Finding a positive me: Affective and neural insights into the challenges of positive autobiographical memory reliving in borderline personality disorder. Behav Res Ther 2022; 158:104182. [PMID: 36137418 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate whether people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) can benefit from reliving positive autobiographical memories in terms of mood and state self-esteem and elucidate the neural processes supporting optimal memory reliving. Particularly the role of vividness and brain areas involved in autonoetic consciousness were studied, as key factors involved in improving mood and state self-esteem by positive memory reliving. METHODS Women with BPD (N = 25), Healthy Controls (HC, N = 33) and controls with Low Self-Esteem (LSE, N = 22) relived four neutral and four positive autobiographical memories in an MRI scanner. After reliving each memory mood and vividness was rated. State self-esteem was assessed before and after the Reliving Autobiographical Memories (RAM) task. RESULTS Overall, mood and state self-esteem were lower in participants with BPD compared to HC and LSE, but both the BPD and LSE group improved significantly after positive memory reliving. Moreover, participants with BPD indicated that they relived their memories with less vividness than HC but not LSE, regardless of valence. When reliving (vs reading) memories, participants with BPD showed increased precuneus and lingual gyrus activation compared to HC but not LSE, which was inversely related to vividness. DISCUSSION Women with BPD seem to experience more challenges in reliving neutral and positive autobiographical memories with lower vividness and less deactivated precuneus potentially indicating altered autonoetic consciousness. Nevertheless, participants with BPD do benefit in mood and self-esteem from reliving positive memories. These findings underline the potential of positive autobiographical memory reliving and suggest that interventions may be further shaped to improve mood and strengthen self-views in people with BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte C van Schie
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands; School of Psychology and Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
| | - Chui-De Chiu
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Serge A R B Rombouts
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Willem J Heiser
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Bernet M Elzinga
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
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6
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Berg JJ, Gilmore AW, Shaffer RA, McDermott KB. The stability of visual perspective and vividness during mental time travel. Conscious Cogn 2021; 92:103116. [PMID: 34038829 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
When remembering or imagining, people can experience an event from their own eyes, or as an outside observer, with differing levels of vividness. The perspective from, and vividness with, which a person remembers or imagines has been related to numerous individual difference characteristics. These findings require that phenomenology during mental time travel be trait-like-that people consistently experience similar perspectives and levels of vividness. This assumption remains untested. Across two studies (combined N = 295), we examined the stability of visual perspective and vividness across multiple trials and timepoints. Perspective and vividness showed weak within-session stability when reported across just a few trials but showed strong within-session stability when sufficient trials were collected. Importantly, both visual perspective and vividness demonstrated good-to-excellent across-session stability across different delay intervals (two days to six weeks). Overall, our results suggest that people dependably experience similar visual phenomenology across occurrences of mental time travel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey J Berg
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.
| | - Adrian W Gilmore
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ruth A Shaffer
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
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7
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Nelson KL, Murphy SM, Bucci W. Narrativity and Referential Activity Predict Episodic Memory Strength in Autobiographical Memories. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2021; 50:103-116. [PMID: 33486653 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-021-09763-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Narrativity has been proposed as an indicator of episodic memory strength when people discuss their past (Nelson and Horowitz in Discourse Processes 31:307-324, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326950dp31-3_5 ). Referential Activity, the extent to which words convey a speaker's experience of being present in the event being described, has been independently hypothesized to indicate episodic memory strength (Maskit in J Psycholinguist Res, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-021-09761-8 ). These hypotheses are tested using a linguistic measure of narrativity and a computerized measure of referential activity to predict previous independent ratings of episodic memory strength that used the Levine et al. (Psychol Aging 17(4):677-689, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1037//0882-7974.17.4.677 ) measure of internal details in retold personal memories provided by Schacter (Addis et al. in Psychol Sci 19(1):33-41, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02043.x ). Raters scored narrativity on four brief near and far past memories elicited from 32 subjects, using Nelson's narrative temporal sequence method based on Labov's (J Narrat Life Hist 7(1-4):395-415, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1075/jnlh.7.49som ) analysis of spoken narratives of personal experience; computerized weighted scores of referential activity (WRAD) were obtained on these same 128 memories. Data analysis showed that narrative temporal sequences predict internal details and WRAD predict internal details. Adding WRAD to narrative temporal sequences improved the prediction of internal details.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin L Nelson
- Department of Psychology and Education, County College of Morris, 214 Center Grove Rd, Randolph, NJ, 07869, USA.
| | - Sean M Murphy
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wilma Bucci
- Derner Institute, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
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8
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Response styles to sad mood and self-esteem as predictors of autobiographical memory: Distinctions between memory specificity and detail. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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9
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Hallford DJ, Barry TJ, Belmans E, Raes F, Dax S, Nishiguchi Y, Takano K. Specificity and detail in autobiographical memory retrieval: a multi-site (re)investigation. Memory 2020; 29:1-10. [PMID: 33135956 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2020.1838548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
This investigation examined conflicting suggestions regarding the association between problems retrieving specific autobiographical memories and the tendency to retrieve the details of these memories. We also examined whether these tendencies are differentially related to depression symptoms. U.S., Belgian, Hong Kong and Japanese participants retrieved memories related to cue words. Responses were coded for if they referred to a specific event (i.e., an event lasting less than 24 h) and their details (What? Where? Who?). Across sites, and in meta-analyses, the retrieval of more specific memories was associated with retrieval of more details. Memories that were specific included more detail than non-specific memories. Across sites, retrieval of more specific memories and more detail was associated with less severe depression symptoms. Episodic specificity and detailedness are related but separable constructs. Future investigations of autobiographical memory specificity, and methods for alleviating problematic specificity, should consider measures of episodic detailedness.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tom J Barry
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.,Department of Psychology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Eline Belmans
- Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Filip Raes
- Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Samantha Dax
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Yuki Nishiguchi
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Keisuke Takano
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany
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10
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Milshtein D, Henik A. I Read, I Imagine, I Feel: Feasibility, Imaginability and Intensity of Emotional Experience as Fundamental Dimensions for Norming Scripts. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2020.1796670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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11
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Abstract
Aiming to further the understanding of stability and change of the life story, we investigated memory age and valence of life events as possible factors influencing life narrative stability. Additionally, we examined personal memories that 145 participants ranging in age from 16 to 69 years had told four years earlier but omitted from their current life narratives. In particular, we tested the accessibility of these omitted memories and explored the reasons for omission from life narratives. Younger age of memories but not valence predicted omission. Further, omitted memories could be remembered when aided with memory prompts. Both remembering and including life events in the current life narrative appeared to be related to personal relevance at the time of telling, supporting prior research that emphasises the role of motivation, ongoing goals, and concerns for the construction of personal narratives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christin Camia
- Department of Psychology, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arabic Emirates
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12
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Selwood A, Harris CB, Barnier AJ, Sutton J. Effects of collaboration on the qualities of autobiographical recall in strangers, friends, and siblings: both remembering partner and communication processes matter. Memory 2020; 28:399-416. [PMID: 32072853 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2020.1727521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Recalling autobiographical memories with others can influence the quality of recall, but little is known about how features of the group influence memory outcomes. In two studies, we examined how the products and processes of autobiographical recall depend on individual vs. collaborative remembering and the relationship between group members. In both studies, dyads of strangers, friends, and siblings recalled autobiographical events individually (elicitation), then either collaboratively or individually (recall). Study 1 involved typing memory narratives; Study 2 involved recalling aloud. We examined shifts in vividness, emotionality, and pronoun use within memory narratives produced by different relationship types. In Study 2, we also coded collaborative dyads' "collaborative processes" or communication processes. In Study 1, all relationships showed decreased positive emotion and I-pronouns and increased negative emotion within collaboratively-produced memory narratives. In Study 2, all relationships showed increased vividness, reduced emotionality and positive and negative emotion, and increased I- and we-pronouns within collaboratively-produced memory narratives. However, strangers used collaborative processes differently from friends and siblings. Some collaborative processes were associated with memory qualities. Across studies, collaboration influenced memory quality more than did relationship type, but relationship type influenced dyads' recall dynamics. These findings indicate the complexity of social influences on memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Selwood
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Celia B Harris
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Amanda J Barnier
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - John Sutton
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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13
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Pereira LM, Piela G, DiCola K. Thematic content of video narratives in patients and survivors of adolescent cancer. Psychooncology 2020; 29:759-765. [PMID: 31997415 DOI: 10.1002/pon.5340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Modern day adolescents and young adults (AYAs) connect with their peers via a number of increasingly novel ways, many of which involve social media. These online relationships are often translated offline to increase one's social standing and quality of in-person relationships. However, when an AYA is diagnosed with a chronic medical condition, like cancer, in-person relationships with peers become difficult and the online component of socialization is all that is left. Video testimonials are a way that some AYAs have chosen to reach out to their peers; however, little is known about what AYAs are saying in these videos and how they are using them to connect with peers on a more intimate level. METHODS This study examined the content of video testimonials of n = 25 AYA cancer patients and survivors. Transcripts of videos were coded by a team of researchers to identify themes and overall tone. RESULTS Results suggested that films focused on struggles AYAs faced during their cancer journeys with a number of themes emerging; additionally, a hopeful tone was seen around the overall impact that cancer had on the patient's life. CONCLUSIONS It may be the case that video testimonials are an effective way to allow AYA patients with a cancer history to explore their thoughts about their illness experience and fill an important social gap not available to them as they undergo treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lila M Pereira
- Department of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York
| | - Gabrielle Piela
- Department of Psychology, Pace University, New York, New York
| | - Katie DiCola
- Department of Psychology, Mercy College, New York, New York
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14
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Levine LJ, Lench HC, Stark CEL, Carlson SJ, Carpenter ZK, Perez KA, Stark SM, Frithsen A. Predicted and remembered emotion: tomorrow's vividness trumps yesterday's accuracy. Memory 2019; 28:128-140. [PMID: 31762377 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2019.1693598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
People rely on predicted and remembered emotion to guide important decisions. But how much can they trust their mental representations of emotion to be accurate, and how much do they trust them? In this investigation, participants (N = 957) reported their predicted, experienced, and remembered emotional response to the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They also reported how accurate and vivid they perceived their predictions and memories to be, and the importance of the election. Participants remembered their emotional responses more accurately than they predicted them. But, strikingly, they perceived their predictions to be more accurate than their memories. This perception was explained by the greater importance and vividness of anticipated versus remembered experience. We also assessed whether individuals with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory for personal and public events (N = 33) showed superior ability to predict or remember their emotional responses to events. They did not and, even for this group, predicting emotion was a more intense experience than remembering emotion. These findings reveal asymmetries in the phenomenological experience of predicting and remembering emotion. The vividness of predicted emotion serves as a powerful subjective signal of accuracy even when predictions turn out to be wrong.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda J Levine
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Heather C Lench
- Psychological & Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Craig E L Stark
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Steven J Carlson
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Zari K Carpenter
- Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, United States
| | - Kenneth A Perez
- Psychological & Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Shauna M Stark
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Amy Frithsen
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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15
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van Schie CC, Chiu CD, Rombouts SARB, Heiser WJ, Elzinga BM. When I relive a positive me: Vivid autobiographical memories facilitate autonoetic brain activation and enhance mood. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:4859-4871. [PMID: 31348599 PMCID: PMC6852129 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Autobiographical memory is vital for our well‐being and therefore used in therapeutic interventions. However, not much is known about the (neural) processes by which reliving memories can have beneficial effects. This study investigates what brain activation patterns and memory characteristics facilitate the effectiveness of reliving positive autobiographical memories for mood and sense of self. Particularly, the role of vividness and autonoetic consciousness is studied. Participants (N = 47) with a wide range of trait self‐esteem relived neutral and positive memories while their bold responses, experienced vividness of the memory, mood, and state self‐esteem were recorded. More vivid memories related to better mood and activation in amygdala, hippocampus and insula, indicative of increased awareness of oneself (i.e., prereflective aspect of autonoetic consciousness). Lower vividness was associated with increased activation in the occipital lobe, PCC, and precuneus, indicative of a more distant mode of reliving. While individuals with lower trait self‐esteem increased in state self‐esteem, they showed less deactivation of the lateral occipital cortex during positive memories. In sum, the vividness of the memory seemingly distinguished a more immersed and more distant manner of memory reliving. In particular, when reliving positive memories higher vividness facilitated increased prereflective autonoetic consciousness, which likely is instrumental in boosting mood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte C van Schie
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Illawarra health and medical research institute and school of psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Chui-De Chiu
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Serge A R B Rombouts
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willem J Heiser
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Mathematical Institute, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Bernet M Elzinga
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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16
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Autobiographical memory stability in the context of the Adult Attachment Interview. Cognition 2019; 191:103980. [PMID: 31238247 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that both attachment representations and autobiographical memories are moderately stable over time. Evidence examining the stability of attachment-related memories is scarce, although these memories of early caregiving are thought to underpin attachment representations. Connecting research on stability of autobiographical memories with research on attachment representation, the present study investigated the stability of attachment-related autobiographical memories, which were provided by 151 emerging adults in repeated Adult Attachment Interviews conducted seven years apart. Results show that these childhood memories are as stable as other memories from later periods of life, and that memory stability depends on retrieval mode, memory valence, autobiographical memory specificity, and memory content (i.e., maternal vs. paternal caregiver). Investigating the relation of stability of attachment-related memory content with attachment security revealed mainly an association with secure base script knowledge, supporting the notion that attachment representations are firmly rooted in semantic and autobiographical memory systems.
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Köber C, Kuhn MM, Peters I, Habermas T. Mentalizing oneself: detecting reflective functioning in life narratives. Attach Hum Dev 2018; 21:313-331. [PMID: 29768982 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2018.1473886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Reflective functioning (RF) is defined as the ability to infer mental states of others and oneself. While RF has been predominantly studied in attachment research, it might also occur in other autobiographical narratives because of its strong connection to self-organization and self-understanding. Therefore, this study took a first step combining research on RF with developmental narrative research. In a longitudinal lifespan study covering up to three measurements across 8 years and six age groups (N = 172), we aimed to detect RF in entire life narratives to explore its development with age and its contribution to causal-motivational coherence of life narratives. Although scores were initially low, RF could be identified in life narratives, and was found to develop throughout adolescence and to predict life narrative coherence above and beyond age. Results confirm RF as significantly contributing to narrative self-organization, indicating promising new paths in research on autobiographical narratives and self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christin Köber
- a Psychology Department , New York University - Abu Dhabi , Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Isabel Peters
- b Psychology , Goethe University Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Tilmann Habermas
- b Psychology , Goethe University Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
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Foley MA. Reflecting on how we remember the personal past: missing components in the study of memory appraisal and theoretical implications. Memory 2017; 26:634-652. [PMID: 29035145 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2017.1387667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The current paper offers a selective review of the study of memory appraisal, focusing on recollections of the personal past, with the goal to bring attention to a missing component in this study. To date, memory appraisal studies have concentrated on participants' assessments of the content of their personal recollections (e.g., their perceptual detail and story-like feel), including beliefs about the accuracy of that content. Participants' assessments of reflection processes accompanying their recollections (e.g., a sense of piecing-together recollection fragments) have yet to be extensively examined. The lack of information on process-based appraisals is related to prior studies' procedural constraints (e.g., kinds of cue prompts and their timing, minimal opportunities for reflection). Reasons for addressing this missing component provide the central themes of the paper. The reasons emerge from the analysis of autobiographical cueing studies, including integration of narrative research studies and autobiographical works. The analysis leads to suggestions for future research involving the use of personal narratives that are intended to address critiques of reconstruction accounts and unresolved questions in the study of memory appraisal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Ann Foley
- a Department of Psychology , Skidmore College , Saratoga Springs , NY , USA
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Köber C, Habermas T. Parents' traces in life: When and how parents are presented in spontaneous life narratives. J Pers 2017; 86:679-697. [PMID: 28843043 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Although parents are acknowledged to be a part of their children's personality and narrative identity and to remain important across the life span, narrative personality research has not yet explored the spontaneous presentation of parents in life stories. Therefore, this study examined longitudinally the place given to parents when crafting one's life narrative and how this changes with age. Furthermore, in contrast to prior studies, we focused on spontaneous mentions of parents. METHOD We investigated how often parents are mentioned in life narratives of six age groups spanning from age 8 to 69, how the parental relationship is evaluated, whether narrators express understanding of their parents, and whether they respond to parental values. RESULTS People of all ages dedicated a substantial part of their life narratives to their parents and evaluated their relationship with them in an increasingly differentiated manner. Parents were increasingly perceived as individuals beyond their parental nurturing role. Until late in life, individuals reflect on values and opinions that were transferred to them by their parents. CONCLUSIONS Parents hold a consistent place in life narratives, emphasizing their importance for narrative identity. Results are discussed in terms of lifelong child-parent relationships. Directions for future research are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christin Köber
- Department of Psychology, New York University, Abu Dhabi
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Habermas T, Döll-Hentschker S. The form of the story: Measuring formal aspects of narrative activity in psychotherapy. Psychother Res 2016; 27:300-312. [PMID: 27892804 DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2016.1259534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We ask which are the clinically relevant qualities of narratives in psychotherapy and how they can be measured. METHOD On the background of psychoanalytic assumptions and narrative theory, we propose to measure formal narrative processes which stay close to the linguistic surface, because these escape conscious control. RESULTS We propose five aspects of narratives to be especially sensitive to distortions and therefore prone to change in successful therapies: (1) The actual chronological, stepwise narrating of events, (2) the intentional structuring of events, or emplotment, (3) the immediate evaluation, (4) the reflected interpretation of events, and finally (5) the consistency and completeness of the narrative. For each aspect we discuss ways to measure them. Finally the aspects are illustrated with excerpts from a series of diagnostic interviews. DISCUSSION Implications for the analysis of the co-narrative role of the therapist are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tilmann Habermas
- a Department of Psychology , Goethe University Frankfurt , Frankfurt a.M. Germany
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Köber C, Habermas T. Development of Temporal Macrostructure in Life Narratives Across the Lifespan. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2015.1105619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Foley MA. Setting the Records Straight: Impossible Memories and the Persistence of Their Phenomenological Qualities. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1037/gpr0000049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This article offers a new perspective on the study of “recollections” that feel like memories despite the fact that people come to believe they are based on events that could not possibly have happened. Indeed this feeling of remembering can persist long after people change their beliefs. This new perspective emerges from the integration of the work of memory scientists with that of literary writers and historians. Shedding light on assumptions about the strength of these persistence effects, the perspective serves as an effective heuristic for guiding the study of precipitating factors that may lead people to question their recollections in the first place. This integrative perspective also invites a broader consideration of the circumstances giving rise to changes in beliefs as well as resistance to such changes. In the process, this new perspective extends and sharpens theoretical discussions about memory reconstruction processes, highlighting the role of scene making and social interactions.
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Thomsen DK. Autobiographical Periods: A Review and Central Components of a Theory. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1037/gpr0000043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Autobiographical periods refer to subjectively defined life periods with perceived beginnings and endings, including information about the people, places, activities, and objects associated with the period. Autobiographical periods are serial, parallel, and hierarchical and are associated with specific and categoric memories. Individuals construct autobiographical periods for the future and have knowledge of periods in other people's lives. The review shows that (a) autobiographical periods may facilitate the recall of specific memories; (b) specific memories from the beginning and end of autobiographical periods are more often recalled compared with specific memories from other time points; (c) autobiographical periods are used to place specific memories in time; (d) autobiographical periods play an important role in the construction of life stories; and (e) autobiographical periods are related to personality traits and well-being. The central components of a theory of autobiographical periods are outlined. Thinking of life as extended time periods is suggested to be the central process through which autobiographical periods are constructed. Sociocultural processes, experience, and goals are assumed to inform life period thinking, and thus the construction of autobiographical periods.
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Öner S, Gülgöz S. Latent constructs model explaining the attachment-linked variation in autobiographical remembering. Memory 2015; 24:364-82. [PMID: 25716295 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2015.1009469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
In the current study, we proposed a latent constructs model to characterise the qualitative aspects of autobiographical remembering and investigated the structural relations in the model that may vary across individuals. Primarily, we focused on the memories of romantic relationships and argued that attachment anxiety and avoidance would be reflected in the ways that individuals encode, rehearse, or remember autobiographical memories in close relationships. Participants reported two positive and two negative relationship-specific memories and rated the characteristics for each memory. As predicted, the basic memory model yielded appropriate fit, indicating that event characteristics (EC) predicted the frequency of rehearsal (RC) and phenomenology at retrieval (PC). When attachment variables were integrated, the model showed that rehearsal mediated the link between anxiety and PC, especially for negative memories. On the other hand, for avoidance EC was the key factor mediating the link between avoidance and RC, as well as PC. Findings were discussed with respect to autobiographical memory functions emphasising a systematically, integrated framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sezin Öner
- a Department of Psychology , Koç University , Istanbul , Turkey
| | - Sami Gülgöz
- a Department of Psychology , Koç University , Istanbul , Turkey
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Kyung Y, Yanes-Lukin P, Roberts JE. Specificity and detail in autobiographical memory: Same or different constructs? Memory 2015; 24:272-84. [DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2014.1002411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Cipolli C, Guazzelli M, Bellucci C, Mazzetti M, Palagini L, Rosenlicht N, Feinberg I. Time-of-night variations in the story-like organization of dream experience developed during rapid eye movement sleep. J Sleep Res 2014; 24:234-40. [DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2014] [Accepted: 09/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Cipolli
- Laboratory of Psychology; DIMES; University of Bologna; Bologna Italy
| | - Mario Guazzelli
- Psychiatry Unit; Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology; University of Pisa; Pisa Italy
| | - Claudia Bellucci
- Laboratory of Psychology; DIMES; University of Bologna; Bologna Italy
| | - Michela Mazzetti
- Laboratory of Psychology; DIMES; University of Bologna; Bologna Italy
| | - Laura Palagini
- Psychiatry Unit; Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology; University of Pisa; Pisa Italy
| | - Nicholas Rosenlicht
- Department of Psychiatry; School of Medicine; University of California; San Francisco CA USA
| | - Irwin Feinberg
- Department of Psychiatry; University of California; Davis CA USA
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Habermas T, Hatiboğlu N. Contextualizing the self: the emergence of a biographical understanding in adolescence. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2014; 2014:29-41. [PMID: 25251508 DOI: 10.1002/cad.20065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
In adolescence, remembering the personal past and understanding what kind of person one is intertwine to form a story of one's life as the most extant, informative, and flexible form of self-representation. In adolescence, the striving for self-coherence translates into a quest for global coherence of the life story. We suggest that contextualizing is a fifth means for creating global coherence in life narratives besides the cultural concept of biography, temporal, causal-motivational, and thematic coherence. We present three kinds of contextualizing in life narratives, the temporal macrostructure, sociohistorical contextualizing of one's life, and hierarchical and linear segmenting of the text and life. These three forms of contextualizing in life narratives by their authors are complemented by three forms of contextual influences on life narratives analyzed by researchers, namely the historical, personal, and communicative situation in which they are recounted. Contextualizing is exemplified by the life narrative of a young migrant.
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