Impaired retrieval of specific, autobiographical memories of personally experienced events is a key characteristic of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there are findings in subclinical samples which suggest that the reduced specificity phenomenon may be a reflection of a broader impairment in the deliberate retrieval of all autobiographical memory types. This experiment explored this possibility by requiring individuals with MDD (N=68) to complete a cued-recall task which required retrieval of specific memories to a block of cues, retrieval of categoric, general memories to a block of cues, and to alternate between retrieval of specific and general memories for a block of cues. Results demonstrated that relative to never-depressed controls, individuals with MDD experience reduced recall of both specific, single incident memories (d=0.48) and general memories (d=1.00), along with reduced flexibility in alternating between specific and general memories (d=0.90), a skill vital to restraining negative beliefs. Findings indicate that the flexibility of autobiographical retrieval is important for mental health and support further development of autobiographical memory-based interventions which target a range of retrieval deficits.
Linguistic analysis of the autobiographical memories of individuals with major depressive disorder
