scholarly journals The characteristics of memories we would save and memories we would erase

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Cassandra Burton-Wood
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Negative Memories

<p>Autobiographical memory contains an incomplete yet dynamic and largely adaptive record of a person’s life experiences. Across three experiments we considered the extent to which people have a desire to intervene in the ordinary processes of remembering and forgetting by asking them how likely they would be to “save” or “erase” a memory of their choosing. We then asked people to rate those memories on functions, emotions, and other characteristics. We found that people do have memories they say they would save or erase if they could. The memories people would save were highly positive memories that served self and belonging functions. Half of these memories were of typical cultural milestones whereas the other half were of more idiosyncratic events. The memories people would erase were highly negative memories that served directive functions. These memories mostly concerned idiosyncratic events. When comparing save and erase memories to people’s most positive and negative memories, we found no difference between save and most positive memories. In contrast, erase memories differed from most negative memories by being more associated with shame and less with social and belonging functions. We discuss our findings in terms of our theoretical understanding of the characteristics of adaptive and maladaptive memories.</p>

scholarly journals The characteristics of memories we would save and memories we would erase

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Cassandra Burton-Wood
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Negative Memories

<p>Autobiographical memory contains an incomplete yet dynamic and largely adaptive record of a person’s life experiences. Across three experiments we considered the extent to which people have a desire to intervene in the ordinary processes of remembering and forgetting by asking them how likely they would be to “save” or “erase” a memory of their choosing. We then asked people to rate those memories on functions, emotions, and other characteristics. We found that people do have memories they say they would save or erase if they could. The memories people would save were highly positive memories that served self and belonging functions. Half of these memories were of typical cultural milestones whereas the other half were of more idiosyncratic events. The memories people would erase were highly negative memories that served directive functions. These memories mostly concerned idiosyncratic events. When comparing save and erase memories to people’s most positive and negative memories, we found no difference between save and most positive memories. In contrast, erase memories differed from most negative memories by being more associated with shame and less with social and belonging functions. We discuss our findings in terms of our theoretical understanding of the characteristics of adaptive and maladaptive memories.</p>

scholarly journals Autobiographical memory: A candidate latent vulnerability mechanism for psychiatric disorder following childhood maltreatment

2017 ◽  
Vol 211 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eamon J. McCrory ◽  
Vanessa B. Puetz ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire ◽  
Andrea Mechelli ◽  
Amy Palmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Cue Words ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Negative Memories

BackgroundAltered autobiographical memory (ABM) functioning has been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder and may represent one mechanism by which childhood maltreatment elevates psychiatric risk.AimsTo investigate the impact of childhood maltreatment on ABM functioning.MethodThirty-four children with documented maltreatment and 33 matched controls recalled specific ABMs in response to emotionally valenced cue words during functional magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsChildren with maltreatment experience showed reduced hippocampal and increased middle temporal and parahippocampal activation during positive ABM recall compared with peers. During negative ABM recall they exhibited increased amygdala activation, and greater amygdala connectivity with the salience network.ConclusionsChildhood maltreatment is associated with altered ABM functioning, specifically reduced activation in areas encoding specification of positive memories, and greater activation of the salience network for negative memories. This pattern may confer latent vulnerability to future depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Emotional Impact Feedback Changes How We Remember Negative Autobiographical Experiences

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Negative Memory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Memories ◽  
Over Time

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.

scholarly journals On the bright side: Young people’s most positive memories of family foster care

2020 ◽  
pp. 135910452097869
Author(s):  
Anne Steenbakkers ◽  
Steffie van der Steen ◽  
Hans Grietens
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Normal Family ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Family Foster Care ◽  
Continuous Support ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Negative Memories

This study explored what contributes to successful family foster care from the perspective of young people by asking them about their most positive memory of family foster care. Forty-four Dutch adolescents and young adults (aged 16–28) participated in this study and shared their most positive memory in a short interview. Their answers were qualitatively analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, supplemented with an analysis of the structure of their memories. The thematic analysis resulted in the themes Belongingness, Receiving support, Normal family life, It is better than before, and Seeing yourself grow. The structural analysis showed that young people both shared memories related to specific events, as well as memories that portrayed how they felt for a prolonged period of time. In addition, young people were inclined to share negative memories alongside the positive memories. These results highlight that, in order to build a sense of belonging, it is important that of foster parents create a normal family environment for foster children and provide continuous support. Moreover, the negative memories shared by participants are discussed in light of a bias resulting from earlier traumatic experiences.

A Classroom Demonstration of the Difference between Correlation and Causality

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 801-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Rae Harcum
Keyword(s):  
Life Experiences ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Research Data ◽  
The Other ◽  
Important Principle ◽  
Point Correlation ◽  
The Difference

An important principle to demonstrate in the first course in psychology is that correlation and causality are not the same. This note describes an apparatus useful in demonstrating the point: correlation does not necessarily imply causality. A black box contains a crank on one end and a flag on the other, without a connection between them. When the instructor overtly turns the crank and, in synchrony, covertly operates another mechanism to wave the flag, the students develop a strong delusion from the mere correlation of the two observed events that turning the crank causes the flag to wave. This demonstration becomes the basis for a discussion of this pitfall in interpreting both research data and life experiences.

scholarly journals The Construction of Meaning and Position of Mental Disorder Character in Three Romance Films

CALL ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dite Nursyamsi Mahmutami
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Media Representation ◽  
Discourse Representation ◽  
Main Structure ◽  
Construction Of Meaning

This research discusses the representation and discourse which focused on the elements of characterization and narration which is presented by mental disorder character in Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Touched with Fire (2015), and The Other Half (2016). In this research, mental illness is not analyzed as a medical narration but also is one of signifying practices. The approaches of media representation analysis from Simon Cross (2014) and Harper (2008) are used to determine the representation of life experiences and disassemble the emerging discourses. The result indicates that when mental illness is represented in the romantic film, the stereotype about abnormality, rejection, and exclusion still becomes the main structure of the narrative. The romance story that wraps it up still refers to the stereotype. Therefore, those three films can be concluded as a part of dominant statements on abnormality discourse against mental disorder sufferers. In this case, mental disorder sufferers are subjected as a subject that must change. It is because only one choice for mental disorder sufferers to be accepted in society, that is recovery.Keywords: Mental Disorder Character, Discourse, Representation, Film

Dialogical and Integrated Self in Late Adulthood: Examining Two Adaptive Ways of Growing Old

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Filip ◽  
Kateřina Lukavská ◽  
Iva Poláčková Šolcová
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Psychological Adaptation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ego Integrity ◽  
Process View ◽  
Better Than

We examined two contradictory views of Erikson’s concept of ego integrity: as an outcome of the tension between integrity and despair, or as a dialogical process of balancing positive and negative life experiences. One hundred sixty-seven Czech older adults participated in the study. Dialogically integrated, outcome-integrated, and outcome-despairing participants were selected based on the Ego Integrity Scale and based on methods mapping life-reviewing dialogue. The three subsamples were compared in their psychological adaptation. The results showed that the dialogically integrated participants scored similarly in well-being and meaningfulness of life as outcome-integrated participants and better than outcome-despairing participants. However, the dialogically integrated participants were also prone to experiencing negative emotions. As they were older than the other two subsamples and reported worse physical health, we concluded that the life-reviewing dialogue helps them maintain a sense of meaning in life and a certain level of well-being. Hence, the results support relevance of the dialogical-process view.

Field perspective deficit for positive memories characterizes autobiographical memory in euthymic depressed patients

2008 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loretxu Bergouignan ◽  
Cédric Lemogne ◽  
Aurélie Foucher ◽  
Estelle Longin ◽  
Damien Vistoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Depressed Patients ◽  
Field Perspective ◽  
Positive Memories

A Study of Autobiographical Memories in Depressed and Nondepressed Elderly Individuals

1993 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Anderson Yang ◽  
Lynn P. Rehm
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Positive Change ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Affective Tone ◽  
Mood Congruence ◽  
Current Mood ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Looking Back

An autobiographical memory task was used to study memory processes and depression in elderly individuals. Twenty-seven nondepressed and twenty-seven depressed elderly participants recalled thirty memories. Each memory was self-rated for happiness versus sadness and the degree of importance of the event at the time the event occurred (i.e., “then”) and looking back on the event (“now”). Nondepressed participants perceived greater positive change in affective tone between “then” and “now” ratings. Depressed participants recalled more memories rated as sad “now” than nondepressed, and perceived negative and positive memories to become more neutral than nondepressed participants. These results are consistent with a mood congruence hypothesis, in that participants recalled more memories affectively consistent with current mood, and a self-enhancement view of reminiscing, such that recalling memories evaluated as happier was associated with less depression.

FIRST ORDER PHASE TRANSITIONS, WHEN AND FROM WHERE DO THEY EMERGE? —THE CASE OF GELS

1995 ◽  
Vol 09 (07) ◽  
pp. 737-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEN SEKIMOTO
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Transition Temperature ◽  
Transition Point ◽  
The Other ◽  
Basic Fact ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
First Order ◽  
First Order Phase Transition ◽  
The One ◽  
First Order Phase

We briefly review the recent theoretical understanding of the first order phase transition undergone by gels with an emphasis on physical concepts, deliberately excluding details of modeling and analytic methods. The density of a gel changes discontinuously at the transition point. A variety of features of the transition result from the basic fact that the inhomogeneity of the density of the gel inevitably causes shear deformation. This deformation, on the one hand, reflects the geometry of the sample and, on the other hand, may alter the transition temperature.

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