The Impact of Cues on Autobiographical Memory Recall in Depression

Studies have consistently found autobiographical memory (AM) impairments in persons with depression. However, these studies have largely utilized generic word cues to elicit AM, yet word cues do not reflect how AMs are typically represented in the mind nor how AMs are usually cued in daily life. The current two-part study employed improved methodology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of cues on AM recall and emotional functioning in depression. In part one, a set of word and image cues were developed and validated. In part two, twenty-one currently depressed and 31 never-depressed participants were instructed to recall specific AMs in response to valenced word and image cues. Process and content characteristics of the recalled AMs were examined, as well as participants’ self-reported affect after each AM recall. Study hypotheses were partially supported. Findings indicated that cue type and valence impacted process and content characteristics of AM, and these effects did not differ between currently depressed and never-depressed participants. However, cue characteristics did differentially impact depressed and never-depressed participants’ self-reported positive affect after AM recall. Interpretation and implication of the findings are discussed

The Impact of Cues on Autobiographical Memory Recall in Depression

Studies have consistently found autobiographical memory (AM) impairments in persons with depression. However, these studies have largely utilized generic word cues to elicit AM, yet word cues do not reflect how AMs are typically represented in the mind nor how AMs are usually cued in daily life. The current two-part study employed improved methodology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of cues on AM recall and emotional functioning in depression. In part one, a set of word and image cues were developed and validated. In part two, twenty-one currently depressed and 31 never-depressed participants were instructed to recall specific AMs in response to valenced word and image cues. Process and content characteristics of the recalled AMs were examined, as well as participants’ self-reported affect after each AM recall. Study hypotheses were partially supported. Findings indicated that cue type and valence impacted process and content characteristics of AM, and these effects did not differ between currently depressed and never-depressed participants. However, cue characteristics did differentially impact depressed and never-depressed participants’ self-reported positive affect after AM recall. Interpretation and implication of the findings are discussed

Encoding Style of Positive Autobiographical Memories: Relationship to Mood Repair, Memory Functioning, and Depression

The recall of positive autobiographical memories is an effective strategy for improving negative mood among healthy persons, yet individuals with a history of depression often fail to derive emotional benefits. Depressed and depression-vulnerable individuals also exhibit deficits in their autobiographical memory characteristics. Scholars have implicated deficits during autobiographical memory retrieval as a cause of mood repair and memory impairments, however the role of memory encoding has largely been overlooked. The current study manipulated encoding style to examine subsequent effects on mood repair efficacy, memory characteristics, and memory accuracy. Fifty-five formerly depressed and 68 never-depressed participants were assigned to employ either a concrete or natural encoding style while engaging in a positive event staged in the laboratory. After a negative mood induction, participants were given the opportunity to improve their moods by recalling details of the positive event. Results failed to support the hypothesized interaction of depression status and encoding style. Interpretations of the null findings are provided and implications of the study are discussed

Det kallas livet : En studie i två delar som skildrar individens uppfattning

Dagens samhälle skapar tillfällen men samtidigt också nya krav på individen. Individen har idag möjligheten att själv göra sina individuella val men valen har sina baksidor och det är inte alltid så att valen utgörs helt av oss själva. Den här antologin belyser hur Det vi kallar livet… skapar valmöjligheter och vilka konsekvenser det kan ha för individen och hennes identitet och livsvillkor. Vi uppmärksammar hur deltagarna i studien ser på olika fenomen samt vilka styrningsmoment som eventuellt kan ligga bakom valens möjligheter. ”Det kallas livet…” är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på empiriskt datamaterial. Det första bidraget är en fördjupning i ungdomars framtidsval genom human-, social- och kulturelltkapitalperspektiv. En väg framåt lyfter nio ungdomars tankar om deras väg framåt genom livet. Nästa del Ungdomars väg mot självständighet ser hur individen tidigare varit bunden till dygnets ljusa timmar för att idag gå in i ett 24-timmarssamhälle som förändrar individens dygnsrytm. Hur ser ungdomar att deras livsvillkor och identitet har förändrats av dygnsrytmens processer är vad studien avser att besvara

VÄRK? LITA PÅ OSS. : Visuell retorik i marknadsföringen av konventionella läkemedel och naturpreparat.

Uppsatsen är en retorisk studie som behandlar marknadsföringen av utvalda konventionella läkemedel och naturpreparat. Studiens huvudsakliga tillvägagångssätt är att genom visuell retorik finna och analysera de delar i reklambildernas utformning som är av retoriskt intresse. Intressant är att se hur de olika produkterna marknadsförs för att skapa förtroende genom dess argumentation inom retoriska övertygandemedel. Resonemang förs även för att se hur reklamerna förhåller sig till publikens normer, rådande regler och trosföreställningar där även de platser för reklamens publicering vägs in. Med analysernas resultat som utgångspunkt följer en diskussion kring de övertygandemedel som finns i de olika reklambilderna

"... aus ächten und unverfälschten Quellen: Ernst Henning, Wilhelm Friedrich Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, Johann Christoph Brotze und ihre Arbeit an den Dokumenten aus dem Geheim Archiv in Köningsberg"

Dagens samhälle skapar tillfällen men samtidigt också nya krav på individen. Individen har idag möjligheten att själv göra sina individuella val men valen har sina baksidor och det är inte alltid så att valen utgörs helt av oss själva. Den här antologin belyser hur Det vi kallar livet… skapar valmöjligheter och vilka konsekvenser det kan ha för individen och hennes identitet och livsvillkor. Vi uppmärksammar hur deltagarna i studien ser på olika fenomen samt vilka styrningsmoment som eventuellt kan ligga bakom valens möjligheter. ”Det kallas livet…” är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på empiriskt datamaterial. Det första bidraget är en fördjupning i ungdomars framtidsval genom human-, social- och kulturelltkapitalperspektiv. En väg framåt lyfter nio ungdomars tankar om deras väg framåt genom livet. Nästa del Ungdomars väg mot självständighet ser hur individen tidigare varit bunden till dygnets ljusa timmar för att idag gå in i ett 24-timmarssamhälle som förändrar individens dygnsrytm. Hur ser ungdomar att deras livsvillkor och identitet har förändrats av dygnsrytmens processer är vad studien avser att besvara

Positive Autobiographical Memory Deficits in Youth with Depression Histories and Their Never-depressed Siblings

Objectives: Impaired positive autobiographical memory (AM) is closely linked to emotional disorders. AM impairments are often found in depressed adults and may be related to the difficulties such persons have in regulating their dysphoric mood. By contrast, less is known about AM disturbances among adolescents, or about the functional relationship of AM disturbances to early-onset depression. Design: A high-risk family design served to compare four groups of youth who differed in depression histories and familial depression risk. Methods: Thirty-one currently depressed probands, 185 remitted probands, 204 never-depressed siblings of probands, and 180 healthy control youth were induced into a negative mood prior to recalling positive AMs via a novel memory elicitation procedure. Several positive AM characteristics were assessed. Results: Relative to control youth, unaffected siblings and probands exhibited consistently impaired positive AMs. Moreover, we also found some evidence that probands were more impaired than siblings, who were in turn more impaired than controls, consistent with a gradient effect. Conclusions: Positive AM disturbances may not only precede the onset of depression in vulnerable youth, but also continue to persist after remission of a depressive episode. Clinical and basic research implications of the findings are discussed. Practitioner points Positive AM impairments may be trait-like, persist in the euthymic phase of depression, and may serve as a risk marker for early-onset depression among vulnerable adolescents. Disturbances in positive AM may negatively impact the mood-regulatory functions of positive memory recall and contribute to persistent sadness and anhedonia, which are core features of depression. Our sample of currently depressed youth was relatively small, tempering our conclusions. Although we collected data on some important covariates (e.g., socioeconomic status), we lacked information on other relevant variables such as youths’ executive functioning or IQ