Is remembering less specifically part of an avoidant coping style? Associations between memory specificity,avoidant coping,and stress

Individuals higher on avoidant coping may remember fewer specific autobiographical memories and more nonspecific memories on the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) in order to protect themselves from the painful emotions accompanying some specific memories. Habitually remembering this way (overgeneral memory) may be a risk factor for depression. In Studies 1 and 2 (nondepressed samples), avoidant coping was associated with more specific memories and fewer overgeneral memories, at odds with the functional avoidance view. In Study 3 (depressed sample), there were no significant relationships between AMT indices and avoidant coping. Results are discussed in light of ironic process theory.     

Social support from friends predicts changes in memory specificity following a stressful life event

ABSTRACT

Exposure to negative life stress has been associated with difficulty retrieving memories for specific autobiographical events, with important consequences for the emergence of emotional disorders. We examined whether social support can protect against the effects of negative events on memory specificity. University students (N?=?143) were assigned to groups based on whether or not they experienced a negative stressor, operationalised as whether or not their recent exam performance was in line with their expectations. After receiving their exam results (T1), and one month later (T2), participants completed measures of memory specificity, their attitudes towards themselves and the occurrence of other stress-related events. Participants also completed a general measure of perceived social support from friends, family, and significant others, and an equivalent measure for social support related to performance. For participants who experienced an exam-related stressor, reduced performance-specific social support from friends was associated with reduced memory specificity at T2, even when accounting for T1 memory specificity, individual differences in attitudes towards self, the experience of additional stressors, and gender. No such relation was present for participants who did not experience a stressor. These findings provide new understanding of the influence of social variables on autobiographical memory specificity.     

Autobiographical Memory Specificity in Patients with Tinnitus Versus Patients with Depression and Normal Controls

Several studies show that patients with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder respond with fewer specific autobiographical memories in a cued memory task (i.e. the autobiographical memory test; AMT) compared to healthy controls. One previous study found this phenomenon among tinnitus patients as well (Andersson, Ingerholt, & Jansson, 2003). The aim of this study was to replicate the previous study with an additional control group of depressed patients and memory errors as measured with the AMT as an additional outcome. We included 20 normal hearing tinnitus patients, 20 healthy controls and 20 persons diagnosed with clinical depression. The AMT was administered together with self-report measures of depression, anxiety and tinnitus distress. Both the tinnitus and depression groups differed from the healthy control group in that they reported fewer specific autobiographical memories. There were, however, differences between the tinnitus and depression groups in terms of the errors made on the AMT. The depression group had more overgeneral memories than the normal control group, whereas the tinnitus group did not differ from the control group on this memory error. The tinnitus group had more semantic associations and non-memories than the other two groups, suggesting that executive functioning may play a role for the tinnitus group when completing the AMT. Clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory as a predictor of the course of depression: A meta-analysis

Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) is a robust phenomenon in depression, but the extent to which OGM predicts the course of depression is not well-established. This meta-analysis synthesized data from 15 studies to examine the degree to which OGM 1) correlates with depressive symptoms at follow-up, and 2) predicts depressive symptoms at follow-up over and above initial depressive symptoms. Although the effects are small, specific and categoric/overgeneral memories generated during the Autobiographical Memory Test significantly predicted the course of depression. Fewer specific memories and more categoric/overgeneral memories were associated with higher follow-up depressive symptoms, and predicted higher follow-up symptoms over and above initial symptoms. Potential moderators were also examined. The age and clinical depression status of participants, as well as the length of follow-up between the two depressive symptom assessments, significantly moderated the predictive relationship between OGM and the course of depression. The predictive relationship between specific memories and follow-up depressive symptoms became greater with increasing age and a shorter length of follow-up, and the predictive relationship was stronger for participants with clinical depression diagnoses than for nonclinical participants. These findings highlight OGM as a predictor of the course of depression, and future studies should investigate the mechanisms underlying this relationship.     

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity affects general distress through poor social support

ABSTRACT

Sharing specific autobiographical events is likely to influence the support people give us; a person who shares little detail of their lives may be unlikely to attract social support and this may in turn contribute towards anxious and depressive symptoms. Participants (N?=?142) reported memories evoked by negative and positive cue words and these memories were coded for whether or not they referred to a specific event lasting less than 24?h. At this time (T1) and one year later (T2), participants also completed the UCLA Life Stress Interview (LSI), which includes a measure of social support, and measures of depression and anxiety comprising a general distress latent construct. The tendency to recall fewer specific memories was associated with lower social support given by friends and romantic partners and this was in turn associated with elevated general distress at T2, even when accounting for T1 social support and general distress. Our findings contribute to the literature regarding the social function of memory and suggest another route via which reduced specificity contributes to emotional disorders.     

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

Research on autobiographical memory (AM) and the ability to retrieve specific autobiographical events in euthymic depressed patients yielded divergent results. The main goal of the present study was to further explore episodic specificity of AM among fully remitted depressed patients. Twenty euthymic depressed patients and 20 matched healthy controls were given a semi-structured interview, which assesses episodic specificity of positive and negative autobiographical memories regarding event and details' specificity, autonoetic consciousness (remember/know procedure) and visual perspective (field/observer procedure). Results showed an impairment of episodic specificity of AM in euthymic depressed patients. This impairment was explained by a field perspective deficit for positive memories only. These results suggest that euthymic patients continue to exhibit discrepancy between their current self and their self for positive past behaviors, which maintains an unfavorable view of their current self. Specific cognitive interventions may improve the self-relevance of their positive memories.     

People infuse their passwords with autobiographical information

ABSTRACT

Passwords might unlock more than our computer accounts. A New York Times Magazine described anecdotes of people who infused their passwords with autobiographical information [Urbina, I. (2014, November 20). The Secret Life of Passwords. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/magazine/the-secret-life-of-passwords.html]. We suspected people infused their passwords with autobiographical information so they could privately remember that information. Across two studies we took a systematic approach to address the extent to which people infused passwords with autobiographical information and the functions that information served. We also examined the self-reported consequences of people infusing their passwords with autobiographical information. Across both studies, 41.6–71.1% of people infused their passwords with autobiographical memories; in Study 2, 9.3% of people infused their passwords with episodic future thoughts. People who infused their password with autobiographical information reported that information served identity, social, and directive functions, and they created their password to remember that information. These studies show that people do not simply use passwords to unlock their computer accounts. Some people might use passwords as mementos to cue autobiographical information.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory predicts diagnostic status in depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterised by difficulties in retrieving specific autobiographical memories, with a significant propensity towards categoric memories (i.e. memories of a summary type). Previous studies have demonstrated that this overgeneral memory is a valid predictor of the course of depression, with reduced specificity being associated with worse outcome. Most of these studies have employed continuous measures of depression to assess the course of the symptoms. This study investigated whether overgeneral memory also predicts clinical status at follow-up (i.e. whether patients still meet criteria for depression). Patients who fulfilled criteria for major depressive disorder were tested shortly after admission to the hospital and were retested some weeks later. It was found that lower levels of specificity or a higher number of categoric memories were associated with a higher probability of still being diagnosed with MDD. These memory variables outperformed other relevant indices, such as depression severity, rumination, level of self-esteem and dysfunctional attitudes.     

Trauma and autobiographical memory specificity in depressed inpatients

Research on autobiographical memory has shown that clinical depression is associated with a difficulty in retrieving specific autobiographical memories in response to cue words. This study examined the relation between lack of autobiographical memory specificity and self-reported trauma in a group of depressed adults (N = 23). In addition to the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986) participants completed a number of questionnaires assessing the presence of traumatic experiences in the past, level of depression and neuroticism. The number of specific responses was not related to depression severity, but was significantly associated with the presence and severity of reported physical abuse. Participants who had been victim of physical abuse were less specific than participants who had not been confronted with such physical adversities. The results are discussed in the context of a functional hypothesis about the developmental relations between memory specificity, trauma and depression.     

The role of executive function in autobiographical memory retrieval: does the type of cue word matter?

ABSTRACT

Autobiographical memories are memories for personally experienced life events. Previous research has revealed individual differences in the ability to recall specific memories that happened at a particular time and place. Some studies suggest such differences can be attributed to the varying capacity of executive function. However, little is known regarding which specific executive function skills predict autobiographical memory specificity. Participants were asked to complete multiple measures of executive function as well as an autobiographical memory task in which they were asked to recall a specific personal memory connected to concrete and abstract cue words. We hypothesised that executive function will be positively related to autobiographical memory specificity and that this relation will be moderated by the cue word type. The results revealed that individuals with higher executive function skills, specifically, higher inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, recalled significantly more specific memories than those with lower executive function skills; however, no significant interaction between executive function ability and cue word type was found.