Trait mindfulness and autobiographical memory specificity

Training in mindfulness skills has been shown to increase autobiographical memory specificity. The aim of this study was to examine whether there is also an association between individual differences in trait mindfulness and memory specificity using a non-clinical student sample (N = 70). Also examined were the relationships between other memory characteristics and trait mindfulness, self-reported depression and rumination. Participants wrote about 12 autobiographical memories, which were recalled in response to emotion word cues in a minimal instruction version of the Autobiographical Memory Test, rated each memory for seven characteristics, and completed the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Ruminative Responses Scale. Higher rumination scores were associated with more reliving and more intense emotion during recall. Depression scores were not associated with any memory variables. Higher trait mindfulness was associated with lower memory specificity and with more intense and more positive emotion during recall. Thus, trait mindfulness is associated with memory specificity, but the association is opposite to that found in mindfulness training studies. It is suggested that this difference may be due to an influence of trait mindfulness on memory encoding as well as retrieval processes and an influence on the mode of self-awareness that leads to a greater focus on momentary rather than narrative self-reference

The Impact Of A Brief Mindfulness Exercise On Autobiographical Memory Specificity In Trauma-Exposed College Students

When comparing performance on the Autobiographical Memory Task (AMT) between individuals who have been exposed to traumatic events and those who have not, individuals exposed to traumatic events tend to provide autobiographical memories that are more often characterized as being overgeneral with relatively fewer memories that reference a particular date or time. Studies have found that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) may be particularly responsible for this effect. Researchers have posited that this effect may be due to cognitive overload from avoiding negative memories, or from shallow retrieval of the memory in order to avoid further emotional discomfort. Mindfulness training, which encourages acceptance of one\u27s emotions, has been associated with improvements in memory and attention, as well as with reductions in PTSS. The current study utilized an experimental design that randomly assigned 133 participants into two conditions (a brief mindfulness exercise group or control condition) to determine whether exposure to a brief mindfulness exercise prior to completing the AMT moderated the association between PTSS and memory specificity. Although the brief mindfulness exercise condition did produce higher mean scores in state mindfulness, analyses of covariance results showed that neither study condition nor PTSS was shown to impact specificity. Implications and limitations are discussed

Overgeneral Memory as an Emotion Regulation Strategy

Studies have shown an association between depression and overgeneral memory (OGM), which is characterized by difficulty remembering specific details about one’s autobiographical memory. One hypothesis as to why reduced autobiographical memory specificity is related to depression is that it functions as an affect-regulation strategy and is a form of cognitive avoidance. This theory posits that OGM will be associated with maladaptive ways of regulating emotion, especially strategies related to avoidance and non-acceptance of negative emotions. In one small study (N=68) to date, associations were found between OGM and a small number of measures tapping experiential avoidance and thought suppression (Hermans et al., 2005). This study sought to replicate the findings of Hermans et al. (2005) in a larger sample using an expanded set of measures. The present study used 125 college students who, as subjects in part of a larger study, completed self-report measures. We found some significant correlations between number of non-specific responses on the Autobiographical Memory Test and measures of avoidance. We also found evidence for a mediational model in which avoidance mediates the relationship between OGM and depression. The results provide support for our hypothesis and enhance confidence in the findings of Hermans et al. (2005). This knowledge can potentially be applied to mindfulness-based treatments of depression that encourage acceptance and focus on diminishing tendencies toward avoidance.Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research GrantSocial and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research GrantNo embarg

Increasing autobiographical memory specificity : using kindness meditation to impact features of memory retrieval

Individuals with a history of depression have an increased risk for future episodes. This risk has been linked with impaired features of autobiographical memory retrieval that remain when depressive symptoms abate, including memory specificity, remoteness, valence, and vantage perspective. Rumination has been shown to influence these impairments and can be reduced via compassion training. We therefore investigated the effects of a self-compassion meditation on autobiographical memory retrieval in remitted depression. Baseline data were collected (n = 50) using an extended version of the Autobiographical Memory Test where participants with remitted depression retrieved specific memories from a remote time period (10 cues) and from any time period (10 cues). Valence and vantage perspective were rated. Participants were then randomly allocated to a self-compassion meditation or (control) colouring intervention group. Baseline measures were reassessed after four weeks of the intervention. Results revealed increased retrieval of specific memories in the self-compassion group in comparison to the colouring group, and an increase in positive and field memories across groups while no remoteness changes were observed. This self-compassion meditation demonstrated initial promise as an intervention to influence features of autobiographical memory retrieval in remitted depression. Improvements were shown in specificity, valence, and vantage perspective. Addressing these features with this type of intervention might reduce a cognitive vulnerability to depression and should be investigated in future studies.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Effects of context and individual differences on memory for prior remembering.

Though people often remember experiences from their lives, they are also able to remember whether a memory has previously been retrieved, which is known as memory for prior remembering. Frequent failures of memory for prior remembering can have negative consequences on how people perceive their own cognitive health. The recurrence of traumatic memory retrieval can be interpreted as a consequence of intrusive memory for prior remembering. This dissertation was conducted to improve our understanding of the factors that influence the efficacy of memory for prior remembering. The two factors that were investigated were context change and individual differences. Participants (N = 180) completed a three-phase memory procedure. In the first phase, participants learned a series of cue-target word pairs. In the second phase, participants were given a cued-recall test (Test 1) for some of the pairs that they learned. Half of those targets were tested in the same context as the learning phase (same-context targets) and the other half were tested in a new context in which one feature had changed from the learning phase (changed-context targets). Three different types of contextual features could have changed in between-subjects fashion: the semantic context, background color context, or screen location context. In the third phase, participants were given a second cued-recall test (Test 2) in which all of the learned targets were tested in the original study context. During the third phase, participants were also asked to make a judgment about whether each target was retrieved during Test 1. Results showed that memory for prior remembering was only impaired for changed-context targets in the semantic change condition. Participants also completed questionnaires to measure individual differences in dispositional mindfulness and absorption. The only significant predictor of memory for prior remembering was absorption and only in the semantic change condition. The findings support a distinction between categorizing contextual features into local and global categories based on their associations with memory for stimuli and memory for prior remembering. Individual difference findings are discussed with respect to whether attention is focused on internal thoughts or external stimuli. Future directions and implications are also discussed

Autobiographical memory specificity, negative mood state, and executive control: implications for clinical depression

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity and executive control have been associated with clinical depression; however, evidence is inconclusive as to whether these impairments represent trait-like qualities of individuals with clinical depression or are associated with changes in mood state. The present study employed a mood induction procedure and a digit-recall task derived to interfere with working memory to test the role of current mood and executive functioning in the autobiographical memory of nondepressed college students. Non-depressed subjects recalled significantly fewer specific memories on an autobiographical memory test following an induced, negative mood state and also with a concurrent digit-recall task. Thus, autobiographical memory specificity is related to current mood state and involves central executive processes which may be appropriate intervention targets

Trait mindfulness and emotion regulation upon autobiographical memory retrieval during depression remission

This work was supported by the Danish National Research Foundation (grant DNRF89: APG) and the University of St Andrews (AEI and BD).Objectives Depression is associated with both emotion dysregulation upon retrieval of autobiographical memories and low trait mindfulness. The present study raised the question of whether these processes are related to each other and whether they may reflect a cognitive-affective vulnerability in individuals at risk of depression. The study examined emotion regulation in response to involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memories during depression remission and explored how trait mindfulness relates to such emotion regulation. Methods The study employed a naturalistic design in which individuals with remitted depression (n = 35) and individuals with no history of depression (n = 32) completed a trait mindfulness measure and a structured memory diary where they rated state use of five emotion regulation strategies upon involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memory retrieval. Results Individuals with remitted depression reported heightened brooding in response to autobiographical memories when memory retrieval occurred involuntarily, and trait mindfulness was low. Depression remission and higher trait mindfulness were independently associated with greater cognitive reappraisal efforts upon involuntary retrieval of autobiographical memories. Higher trait mindfulness predicted less memory suppression, irrespective of depression history and memory retrieval mode. Conclusions The findings suggest a vulnerability in emotional processing of autobiographical memories during depression remission that is dependent on mindfulness skill level and how memories come to mind.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationIt has been reported that persons suffering from depression tend to have difficulty retrieving autobiographical memories of events that occurred on a single day in their lives (e.g., "Last Tuesday night in the Student Union"), and tend instead to retrieve memories that encompass a category of events over extended time periods (e.g., "I used to go to the Student Union a lot."). However, the instrument with which this phenomenon is generally measured - the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) - appears to confound the effects of at least two separate underlying processes: (1) the inability or unwillingness of depressed persons to remember and comply with the AMT's instruction to retrieve only single-day memories (instruction neglect), and (2) the tendency of depressed persons to have a preponderance of (or easier access to) autobiographical memories that conflate extended time periods and/or categories of events, and to have fewer (or more difficult access to) autobiographical memories of single-day events (autobiographical overgenerality). There are reasons to suppose that both of these processes may be associated with depression and that they both contribute to, and are confounded in, scores on the AMT. This dissertation project employed two different versions of the AMT in an attempt to dissociate these two processes. However, the scores on neither of these tests correlated with measures of depression, depressive rumination, or executive dysfunction. Given the power of this study, these null results are partially interpretable, and a plausible explanation there for is that scores on the standard version of the AMT are driven largely by instruction neglect, but the design of this study inadvertently prevented the detection of that process

Assessing treatments used to reduce rumination and/or worry : a systematic review

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