Aging and Working Memory Inside and Outside the Focus of Attention: Dissociations of Availability and Accessibility

ABSTRACT

Two experiments used the N-Back task to test for age differences in working memory inside and outside the focus of attention. Manipulations of the difficulty of item-context binding (Experiment 1) and of stimulus feature binding (Experiment 2) were used to create conditions that varied in their demand on working memory, with the expectation that greater demand might increase age differences in focus-switching costs and the search rate outside the focus of attention. Results showed, however, that although age differences were evident in measures of overall speed and accuracy, and the manipulations significantly affected response times and accuracy in the expected direction, the experimental manipulations had no impact on age differences. Findings instead pointed to age-related reductions in accuracy but not speed of focus-switching and search outside the focus of attention. Thus, age-related deficits appear to involve the availability of representations in working memory, but not their accessibility.     

抑郁症患者的自传体记忆特征及其应用自传体记忆测验的元分析

研究目的在于探讨抑郁症患者自传体记忆的特征以及自传体记忆测验(the autobiographical memory test, AMT)在该领域的应用情况。通过文献检索, 搜集了18篇应用AMT作为测评工具的抑郁症自传体记忆研究, 抑郁症患者566人, 正常对照组457人。元分析研究发现, 和正常对照组比较, 抑郁症组的具体性记忆减少, 概括化记忆增多, 反应迟缓。目前对这种现象的解释主要有功能性回避模型、认知执行受损模型和沉思模型; 年龄、抑郁情绪以及AMT测试程序对测试结果有明显影响; 发表偏倚和敏感性分析显示存在发表偏倚, 但稳定性较好。AMT在抑郁症研究存在灵敏度不足等局限, 作者从AMT程序、研究设计等方面提出了改善建议。     

自我、文化与记忆：自传体记忆的跨文化研究

自传体记忆不仅是对过去自我经验的加工和提取,还反映了特定的社会和文化背景。近年来,自传体记忆跨文化研究表明,东西方被试在最早记忆年龄、记忆容量和具体性、内部语言的使用、记忆取向等方面存在差异。文章从自我概念、亲子回忆和叙事方式、社会变迁和文化多元化等角度,探讨了文化自我观对于自传体记忆的核心意义。Nelson和Fivush的社会文化发展观则从发展的角度动态考察了内外因素对自传体记忆产生文化和个体差异的机制。文章还回顾了自传体记忆跨文化研究的主要方法。最后,文章探讨了自传体记忆跨文化及相关领域的研究前景和存在的问题     

Aging and Autobiographical Memory: The Long and Bumpy Road

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue of Journal of Adult Development that deals with the topic of aging and autobiographical memory. Methodological issues, empirical findings, and theoretical frameworks that bear on older adults' autobiographical recall are discussed. Special emphasis is placed on an examination of the factors that underlie the offset of infantile amnesia and the reminiscence bump. An integrative approach to the study of aging and autobiographical memory is proposed that brings together paradigms from experimental psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and neuroimaging.     

Memory of myself: Autobiographical memory and identity in Alzheimer's disease

A number of theories posit a relationship between autobiographical memory and identity. To test this we assessed the status of autobiographical memory and identity in 20 individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 20 age‐matched controls, and investigated whether degree of autobiographical memory impairment was associated with changes in identity. Two tests of autobiographical memory (Autobiographical Memory Interview, autobiographical fluency) and two measures of identity (Twenty Statements Test, identity items of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale) were administered. AD participants exhibited significant impairments on both memory tests, and changes in the strength, quality, and direction of identity relative to controls. Impairments of some components of autobiographical memory, particularly autobiographical memory for childhood and early adulthood, were related to changes in the strength and quality of identity. These findings support the critical role of early adulthood autobiographical memories (16–25 years) in identity, and suggest autobiographical memory loss affects identity.     

Anxiety and Mood-congruent Autobiographical Memory: A Conceptual Failure to Replicate

This study further explored whether highly anxious participants exhibit a mood-congruent autobiographical memory bias, as was found in two previous studies (Burke & Mathews, 1992; Richards & Whittaker, 1990). The 74 high and low trait anxious participants retrieved personal memories to anxiety-related, neutral, and positive cue words, and were then asked to recall the original cue words. The study also explored how expression of emotional versus factual responses might affect a memory bias. On most dependent measures, no differences were found between anxiety groups. However, low anxious participants recalled more memories overall than high anxious participants. In addition, the emotions groups recalled more words at free recall than the facts groups. Findings fail to support previous studies that found an autobiographical memory bias to be associated with high anxiety, and cast more support for the mounting evidence against a mood-congruent memory bias in anxiety.     

Memory and Affect: Autobiographical Memory Distribution and Availability in Normal Adults and Recently Detoxifed Alcoholics

An autobiographical memory task was administered to a group of 15 male alcoholics (duration of abuse x = 16 years) and to a control group comprised of 15 nonabusers. The alcoholics were inpatients in a chemical dependence treatment program who had their last drink 8 days prior to testing. Two aspects of autobiographical memory were compared. First, the distribution of memories for life events over the lifespan clearly differed for the two groups. The alcoholic group recalled far fewer memories from the most recent 5 years and showed an exaggerated tendency to recall memories from their early adulthood when compared to the control group. This result is consistent with a model of the onset of a temporally graded retrograde amnesia subsequent to a protracted period of alcohol abuse. In such cases the context for self-evaluation may remain heavily rooted in late adolescence. Second, in contrast to results of the control group, the data from men in the alcohol group revealed no relationship between latency to report autobiographical memories associated with a particular affect and self-rated frequency of such affects. This dissociation indicates the possible impact of atypical memory performance on views of the self.     

Cognitive-Perceptual Theory and the Projective Use of Autobiographical Memory

Most clinicians know little about the operation of autobiographical memory. Yet as assessment people, clinicians are frequently called upon to make important decisions about the individuals they evaluate. It is not surprising that clinicians are ignorant regarding many aspects of autobiographical memory because most have not been trained to understand how autobiographical memory functions. This article focuses on a vital domain of autobiographical memories—early memories—and discusses from a clinical perspective the purpose, function, and organization of autobiographical memory as seen by cognitive-perceptual theory.     

Sleep Quality and the Subjective Experience of Autobiographical Memory: Differential Associations by Memory Valence and Temporality

The primary goal of the present research was to examine associations between sleep quality and the subjective experience of autobiographical events. In an online study, 141 university students reported on past events that varied by valence (positive or negative) and temporality (most significant or from the previous 2 weeks); they also completed measures of sleep quality and depression. Relative to participants with good sleep quality, participants with poor sleep quality thought more about their negative experiences, reported negative events that occurred more frequently, and used more negative emotion words when describing recent negative events. In some instances, depressive symptoms mediated the relation between sleep quality and elements of autobiographical reports. Future experimental work should examine the directionality of these effects, with the ultimate goal of improving sleep quality, mental health, and the manner in which individuals discuss and make meaning of their negative life events. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Autobiographical memory specificity, psychopathology, depressed mood and the use of the Autobiographical Memory Test: a meta-analysis

Reviewing the literature on autobiographical memory overgenerality, as measured by a cueing task like the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), gives a diffuse view of the moderating role of depression. This meta-analysis is an attempt to investigate the role of depression in the specificity of autobiographical memory, while accounting for the role of patient and task variables as possible moderators. Meta-analytic techniques are used to synthesize data from 14 studies on the recall of specific autobiographical memories in psychiatric and non-psychiatric samples. The results confirm the relationship between overgenerality and depression. The psychiatric patients are less specific than their non-clinical controls. It is not possible to establish that this result is solely due to a (co-morbid) diagnosis of depression. Self-reported depressed mood is also related to an impairment of autobiographical memory specificity. The way of presenting cues, audio taping responses and the maximum available amount of time to respond, are moderators of AMT performance.     

Background Data and Autobiographical Memory: Effects of Item Types and Task Characteristics

Background data, or life history measures, ask people to recall and report prior behavior and experiences. Although these measures have been found to be effective predictors of performance, little is known about the characteristics of items contributing to accurate reporting and good recall. Accordingly, 153 undergraduates were asked to work on a complex, computer-based ‘in-basket’ task. In working through this task, objective indices of their activities were obtained. After completing this task, subjects were asked to answer a set of background data items describing their behavior and experiences during task performance. Additionally, they were asked to return one week later and, again, answer the background data questions. Indices of accuracy and recall consistency were obtained for various item types. In accordance with the literature of autobiographical memory, it was found that people could consistency recall and accurately report general summaries of activities and their reactions to the task. More specific actions or behaviors that were not linked to goals were not accurately and consistently recalled. The implications of these findings for the development and application of background data measures are discussed.     

沉思和分心对负情绪和自传体记忆的影响

探讨在诱发了抑郁、焦虑、悲伤等负性情绪后,沉思和分心对正常成人的情绪主观报告、生理变化和自传体记忆的作用。64名被试被随机分为两组,用故事和电影短片分别诱发了负性和中性（控制组）两种情绪状态。然后进行随机分组,分别进行分心和沉思的反应任务。测量四组被试的情绪主观报告、生理变化以及多种形式和性质的自传体记忆。结果表明：（1）沉思和分心对这些负情绪的调节作用不显著;（2）沉思引起更多的负性记忆,正性复合指数更小,自传体记忆的具体性更弱。结论：沉思导致更多负性记忆,维持了概括性记忆,更有可能加重已经激活的负情绪     

Credibility of Asylum Claims: Consistency and Accuracy of Autobiographical Memory Reports Following Trauma

Herlihy and colleagues (current issue) review the literature on the characteristics of autobiographical memory in asylum seekers who are presenting evidence of their traumatic experiences in the immigration courts with a view to finding a safe haven. In this commentary, I briefly discuss how the quality of the memory report may influence reliability and credibility judgements in individuals whose memories may be subject to post‐traumatic stress disorder. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.