The association between rumination and negative affect: A review

A total of 100 experimental, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on the association between rumination and negative affects are reviewed. Experimental and cross-sectional studies support a positive association between rumination and sadness-depression whereas longitudinal studies show more diverse results. Longitudinal studies sampling clinical populations and with treatment during the follow-up display more null results. Concerning the relation between rumination and other negative affects there is strongest evidence for a positive association between rumination and anxiety, but more studies are necessary to illuminate the relation between rumination and other negative affects. The functionality of rumination is discussed along with possible explanations for the associations between rumination and different negative affects. The need for further differentiation of rumination is highlighted in order to distinguish the concept from other types of repetitive, negative thoughts.     

The end point effect in autobiographical memory: More than a calendar is needed

The end point effect, an increased frequency of memories from the start and end of a period, may be due to internalised calendar representations or narrative structures. Differential predictions derived from these theories were tested in 3 studies. In Study 1, 104 students recalled 5 memories from a relationship. In Study 2, 106 students recalled 5 memories from their first term and in Study 3, 89 students recalled 3 positive and 3 negative memories from their first term. In all three studies memories were rated on phenomenology, encoding variables and rehearsal. All three studies replicated the endpoint effect, with Study 3 showing a stronger effect for positive memories. The studies showed higher rating for end point memories on phenomenology (Study 1), encoding variables (Studies 1 and 2) and rehearsal (Study 1). Generally, the results support the narrative theory and this is discussed in relation to broader theories of autobiographical memory.     

Personality traits and autobiographical memory: Openness is positively related to the experience and usage of recollections

We examined the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality and the experience and overall usage of autobiographical memory in two studies. In both studies we found that Openness was related to the directive and self functions of overall usage. In addition, Openness was related to the vividness, reliving, coherence, and centrality of event to the person's identity and life story of concrete memories in Study 2, whereas this was not found in Study 1. For the remaining "Big Five" personality traits the results were less consistent across studies. Neuroticism was related to the self function in Study 1, but also to the directive function as well as to negative affect of concrete memories in Study 1. Extraversion was positively related to the social function as well as to conversational rehearsal of memories in Study 1, but this was also not replicated in Study 2. Finally, in both studies there were no significant relationships with regard to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Overall, the findings replicate and extend previous work showing a positive relationship between Openness and the experience and overall usage of autobiographical memory, whereas the roles for the remaining "Big Five" are less clear.     

Thirty-five-month-old children have spontaneous memories despite change of context for retrieval

ABSTRACT

Many parents have experienced incidents in which their preschool child spontaneously (i.e., without prompting of any kind) recall a previously experienced event. Until recently, such spontaneous memories had only been examined in non-controlled settings (e.g., diary studies). Using a novel experimental paradigm, a previous study has shown that when young children are brought back to a highly distinct setting (same room, same experimenter, same furnishing), in which they previously experienced an interesting event (a Teddy or a Game event), spontaneous memories can be triggered. However, exactly which cues (or combination of cues) are effective for the children’s memory, remains unknown. Here, we used this novel paradigm to examine the possible impact of contextual cues at the time of retrieval. We manipulated whether the 35-month-old children returned to the same room (n?=?40) or to a different, but similarly furnished, room (n?=?40) after one week. The results revealed that although the children returning to a new room produced fewer spontaneous memories than the children returning to the same room, the difference was not significant. Interestingly, despite changing rooms, the children still produced spontaneous memories. Taken together the results may shed new light on the mechanisms underlying childhood amnesia.     

A memory-based model of posttraumatic stress disorder: evaluating basic assumptions underlying the PTSD diagnosis

In the mnemonic model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the current memory of a negative event, not the event itself, determines symptoms. The model is an alternative to the current event-based etiology of PTSD represented in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The model accounts for important and reliable findings that are often inconsistent with the current diagnostic view and that have been neglected by theoretical accounts of the disorder, including the following observations. The diagnosis needs objective information about the trauma and peritraumatic emotions but uses retrospective memory reports that can have substantial biases. Negative events and emotions that do not satisfy the current diagnostic criteria for a trauma can be followed by symptoms that would otherwise qualify for PTSD. Predisposing factors that affect the current memory have large effects on symptoms. The inability-to-recall-an-important-aspect-of-the-trauma symptom does not correlate with other symptoms. Loss or enhancement of the trauma memory affects PTSD symptoms in predictable ways. Special mechanisms that apply only to traumatic memories are not needed, increasing parsimony and the knowledge that can be applied to understanding PTSD.     

The episodic nature of involuntary autobiographical memories

Involuntary autobiographical memories are conscious and unintended recollections of personal experiences. In Study 1, involuntary memories were compared with voluntary word-cued memories, both retrieved in naturalistic settings via a self-paced procedure. The involuntary memories more frequently referred to specific episodes, came with more physical reaction, had more impact on mood, and dealt with more unusual and less positive events. Study 2 demonstrated that these differences were not due to differences between verbal and nonverbal cues, by using Francis Galton's "memory walk" as a nonverbal method to cue voluntary memories. In both studies, systematic differences were found between specific and nonspecific memories. The findings show that the way autobiographical memories are sampled greatly affects the findings and that involuntary retrieval more often provides access to memories of specific episodes and associated emotional states.     

The end point effect in autobiographical memory: more than a calendar is needed

The end point effect, an increased frequency of memories from the start and end of a period, may be due to internalised calendar representations or narrative structures. Differential predictions derived from these theories were tested in 3 studies. In Study 1, 104 students recalled 5 memories from a relationship. In Study 2, 106 students recalled 5 memories from their first term and in Study 3, 89 students recalled 3 positive and 3 negative memories from their first term. In all three studies memories were rated on phenomenology, encoding variables and rehearsal. All three studies replicated the endpoint effect, with Study 3 showing a stronger effect for positive memories. The studies showed higher rating for end point memories on phenomenology (Study 1), encoding variables (Studies 1 and 2) and rehearsal (Study 1). Generally, the results support the narrative theory and this is discussed in relation to broader theories of autobiographical memory.     

The characteristics of involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memories in depressed and never depressed individuals

This study compares involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memories in depressed and never depressed individuals. Twenty depressed and twenty never depressed individuals completed a memory diary; recording their reactions to 10 involuntary and 10 voluntary memories over 14-30days. Psychiatric status (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, SCID-1), psychopathology, rumination and avoidance were assessed. For both groups, involuntary memories more frequently lead to strong reactions than voluntarily memories. For both modes of retrieval, depressed individuals reported more frequent negative reactions than never depressed individuals and rated memories as more central to identity with higher levels of rumination and avoidance. Depressed individuals retrieved both positive and negative memories during involuntary retrieval. These findings support the view that involuntary memory retrieval represents a basic mode of retrieval during healthy and disordered cognition, and that during depression, both involuntary and voluntary memories are central to identity and associated with rumination and avoidance.