A dysphoric's TALE: The relationship between the self-reported functions of autobiographical memory and symptoms of depression

Autobiographical memory (AM) is believed to serve self, social and directive functions; however, little is known regarding how this triad of functions operates in depression. Using the Thinking About Life Experiences questionnaire [Bluck, S., & Alea, N. (2011). Crafting the TALE: Construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering. Memory, 19, 470–486.; Bluck, S., Alea, N., Habermas, T., & Rubin, D. C. (2005). A TALE of three functions: The self–reported uses of autobiographical memory. Social Cognition, 23, 91–117.], two studies explored the relationship between depressive symptomology and the self-reported frequency and usefulness of AMs for self, social and directive purposes. Study 1 revealed that thinking more frequently but talking less frequently about past life events was significantly associated with higher depression scores. Recalling past events more frequently to maintain self-continuity was also significantly associated with higher depressive symptomology. However, results from Study 2 indicated that higher levels of depression were also significantly associated with less-frequent useful recollections of past life events for self-continuity purposes. Taken together, the findings suggest atypical utilisations of AM to serve self-continuity functions in depression and can be interpreted within the wider context of ruminative thought processes

Story contexts increase susceptibility to the DRM illusion in 5-year-olds.

False recognition in children aged 5, 8, and 11 years was investigated using the standard version of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure and an alternative version in which the DRM stimuli were embedded in stories designed to emphasize their overall theme. Relative to the 8- and 11-year-olds, the 5-year-olds falsely recognized fewer critical lures when the DRM stimuli were presented in lists, but falsely recognized more critical lures when the stimuli were presented in stories. Levels of false recognition in the 8- and 11-year-olds were not affected by study format. We argue that the story context enhanced the ability of the 5-year-olds to make inferences based on the theme of the DRM stimuli. The 5-year-olds then showed higher levels of false recognition than the older children owing to their inability to reject lure words consistent with the stories

Not lost in translation: writing auditorily presented words at study increases correct recognition “at no cost”

© 2016 Taylor & Francis. Previous studies have reported a translation effect in memory, whereby encoding tasks that involve translating between processing domains produce a memory advantage relative to tasks that involve a single domain. We investigated the effects of translation on true and false memories using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure [Deese, J. (1959). On the prediction of occurrence of particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 17–22; Roediger, H. L., III, & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 21, 803–814]. Translation between modalities enhanced correct recognition but had no effect on false recognition. Results are consistent with previous research showing that correct memory can be enhanced “at no cost” in terms of accuracy. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding the relationship between true and false memories produced by the DRM procedure

Survival processing versus self-reference : a memory advantage following descriptive self-referential encoding

Previous research has shown that rating words for their relevance to a survival scenario leads to better retention of the words than rating them for self-reference. Past studies have, however, relied exclusively on an autobiographical self-reference task in which participants rate how easily a common noun brings to mind a personal experience. We report five experiments comparing survival processing to a descriptive self-reference task in which participants rated how well trait words described them. Rating trait adjectives for survival value led to higher levels of recall and recognition than rating them for their relevance to a moving home scenario. Rating the adjectives for self-reference, however, led to higher levels of recall (Experiments 1 and 3) and recollection (Experiment 2) than survival rating. Experiment 4 replaced trait adjectives with trait nouns and found that self-reference led to greater recognition accuracy than survival processing. Experiment 5 used trait nouns followed by tests of free recall and found a memory advantage following self-reference that was not influenced by the imageability of the stimuli. The findings are discussed in terms of theories of the survival processing and self-reference effects and the relationship between them

Adaptive false memory: Imagining future scenarios increases false memories in the DRM paradigm

Previous research has shown that rating words for their relevance to a future scenario enhances memory for those words. The current study investigated the effect of future thinking on false memory using the Deese/Roediger–McDermott (DRM) procedure. In Experiment 1, participants rated words from 6 DRM lists for relevance to a past or future event (with or without planning) or in terms of pleasantness. In a surprise recall test, levels of correct recall did not vary between the rating tasks, but the future rating conditions led to significantly higher levels of false recall than the past and pleasantness conditions did. Experiment 2 found that future rating led to higher levels of false recognition than did past and pleasantness ratings but did not affect correct recognition. The effect in false recognition was, however, eliminated when DRM items were presented in random order. Participants in Experiment 3 were presented with both DRM lists and lists of unrelated words. Future rating increased levels of false recognition for DRM lures but did not affect correct recognition for DRM or unrelated lists. The findings are discussed in terms of the view that false memories can be associated with adaptive memory functions

Putting false memories into context: The effects of odour contexts on correct and false recall

False memories created by the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm are often accompanied by contextual information. Yet, research investigating the effects of context on false memories is surprisingly scarce. We used the context-dependent memory (CDM) model to construct same versus different context conditions using odours as contexts and DRM lists as to-be-remembered stimuli. Experiment 1 showed that levels of correct recall were higher in the same-context condition than in the changed-context condition, but no effects of context were observed in false recall. Experiment 2 used different odours and a longer retention interval and showed that context dependent memory effects were found for both true and false memory. For true memory, context reinstatement improved memory, whilst simultaneously reducing false memory. Theoretical and forensic implications of these findings are discussed

Measuring the speed of the conscious components of recognition memory: Remembering is faster than knowing.

Three experiments investigated response times (RTs) for remember and know responses in recognition memory. RTs to remember responses were faster than RTs to know responses, regardless of whether the remember–know decision was preceded by an old/new decision (two-step procedure) or was made without a preceding old/new decision (one-step procedure). The finding of faster RTs for R responses was also found when remember–know decisions were made retrospectively. These findings are inconsistent with dual-process models of recognition memory, which predict that recollection is slower and more effortful than familiarity. Word frequency did not influence RTs, but remember responses were faster for words than for nonwords. We argue that the difference in RTs to remember and know responses reflects the time taken to make old/new decisions on the basis of the type of information activated at test

Amnesia and the DRM Paradigm: How Encoding Factors (Do Not) Affect Lure Recognition

In the DRM paradigm, participants are presented with, and their memory is tested for, lists of words that are associatively related to a non-presented lure word. Recent studies have revealed that amnesic patients show heightened immediate, but diminished delayed false recognition of such related lure words as compared to healthy controls. These findings may reflect deficient encoding, retrieval, or both. In two experiments, the importance of encoding factors was evaluated by investigating whether story contexts would increase delayed lure recognition, and whether personally-relevant content would decrease immediate lure recognition in Korsakoff patients. With delayed testing, patients' lure recognition was consistently lower than controls'. With immediate testing, lure recognition was less frequent for personally-relevant than for neutral materials. However, as opposed to controls, Korsakoff patients did not show a difference in source memory, but merely a change in response bias. Results point to the conclusion that deficient explicit recollection is the main factor determining the difference in false recognition between amnesic patients and controls

The effect of strategic supplementation with trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid on the milk production, estrous cycle characteristics, and reproductive performance of lactating dairy cattle

Peer-reviewedThis is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Dairy Science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 95, Issue 5, May 2012, Pages 2442-2451: DOI 10.3168/jds.2011-4632The objective was to determine the effects of a protected (lipid-encapsulated) conjugated linoleic acid (LE-CLA) supplement on milk production, estrous cycle characteristics, and reproductive performance in lactating dairy cows on a pasture-based diet. Spring calving dairy cows (n = 409) on a single pasture-based commercial dairy farm were used in a completely randomized block design. Cows were assigned to 1 of 2 dietary supplements [LE-CLA (n = 203) or no supplement (control, n = 206)]. The LE-CLA cows received 51 g/d of a lipid supplement containing 5 g of both trans-10,cis-12 and cis-9,trans-11 CLA from 0 to 60 d in milk. Milk samples were collected 3 times weekly, and each sample was analyzed for progesterone to determine the interval to first ovulation and estrous cycle characteristics. Milk yield and concentrations of fat, protein, and lactose were measured every 2 wk. Cows were inseminated following visual observation of estrus. The breeding season commenced on April 8, 2009 and continued for 16 wk. Transrectal ultrasonography was carried out at 30 to 36 d and 60 to 66 d post-AI to diagnose pregnancy. The LE-CLA treatment resulted in a decrease in milk fat concentration (36.9 ± 0.06 g/kg vs. 30.7 ± 0.06 g/kg for control and LE-CLA, respectively) and yield (0.91 ± 0.02 kg/d vs. 0.84 ± 0.02 kg/d for control and LE-CLA, respectively); however, milk yield was increased by LE-CLA supplementation (24.7 ± 0.7 kg/d vs. 27.2 ± 0.7 kg/d for control and LE-CLA, respectively), resulting in no overall difference in milk energy output. No effect of LE-CLA was observed on any estrous cycle characteristics or measures of reproductive performance. These results support that in pasture-based systems of dairy production, where energy intake limits milk production, energy spared by CLA-induced milk fat depression is partitioned toward increasing milk yield rather than toward body reserves

“I’m just not feeling it”: Affective processing of episodic physical activity memories differs between physically active and inactive individuals

Despite widespread awareness of the physiological and psychological benefits of physical activity, many individuals do not meet recommended guidelines. The current research investigated whether episodic memories of physical activity experiences and the emotions elicited by such memories differ between active and inactive individuals. A total of 40 active individuals (36 females, 4 males; Age X = 20.40) and 36 inactive individuals (31 females, 5 males Age X = 22.67) were asked to retrieve positive and negative memories of physical activity experiences and to rate them for phenomenological characteristics such as vividness, coherence, remembered emotion, and the emotions elicited when recalling those experiences. There was no difference between the active and inactive individuals in the remembered emotion of negative physical activity memories, but the positive memories recalled by active individuals were rated as more positive than those recalled by inactive individuals. The memories recalled by active individuals also elicited ‘in the moment’ emotions that were more positive for positive memories, and less negative for negative memories, compared to those recalled by inactive individuals. The findings are in line with hedonistic theories of physical activity engagement and suggest that futher research exploring the role of physical activity memories, and their associated affective processing, is warranted.It is widely accepted that engaging in physical activity provides both physiological and psychological benefits (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020), with insufficient physical activity being one of the ten leading global risk factors for mortality (WHO, 2009). However, recent global estimates suggest that 27.5% of adults and 81% of adolescents do not meet recommended guidelines for physical activity, and that these figures have not improved across the last two decades (Guthold et al, 2018, 2020). Improving physical activity engagement is now a worldwide priority (WHO, 2020). Thus, a core facet of exercise psychology has been to try and understand the factors that affect motivation for, and engagement in, physical activity.For many years, social cognitive approaches were dominant in the understanding and promotion of physical activity. These approaches discuss how intentions to engage in physical activity are formed from the expectancies one holds about behavioural outcomes (e.g benefits/barriers, attitudes, outcomes expectations) and/or one’s capability to enact a behaviour (e.g. self-efficacy, behavioural control, competence). Therefore, interventions focus on promoting the value of physical activity and modifying expectations of capability (Rhodes et al, 2019). Whilst the vast majority of people are aware of the health benefits and cite an intention to be physically active, these intentions do not translate into action for approximately half of all individuals (Rhodes & de Bruijn, 2013). Arguably, therefore, promotion of health benefits is insufficient as a mechanism to improve engagement in physical activity (Maltagliati et al, 2022).More recently, there has been a growing interest in the role of affective factors in explaining, and improving, physical activity engagement (e.g. Brand & Ekkekakis, 2018; Conner et al., 2015; Conroy & Berry, 2017; Ekkekakis, 2017; Maltagliati et al, 2022; Stevens et al, 2020). For instance, the Affect and Health Behavior Framework (AHBF; Williams & Evans, 2014) discusses a range of potential affective determinants of health behaviours. These include an individual’s affective responses, which refer to how one feels while performing and/or immediately after physical activity and, also, the individual’s affective processing, which refers to one’s cognitive processing of previous affective responses to physical activity (Stevens et al, 2020). The latter can occur through automatic and reflective pathways and these ideas have been formalised within models such as the Affective-Reflective Theory of physical inactivity and exercise (ART: Brand & Ekkekakis, 2018) and the Theory of Effort Minimization in Physical Activity (TEMPA: Cheval & Boisgontier, 2021). These models suggest that automatic affect-driven processes interact with conscious reflective-evaluative processes to shape physical activity and sedentary behaviour. A critical factor within these models is that physical activity-related stimuli (e.g. an advertisement for membership offers at a local gym) cue associated cognitive and affective information held within long-term memory. Initially, this takes the form of an automatic affective valuation that is a function of the relative strength of the positive and negative associations within memory. However, if sufficient self-control resources are available, then a slower and more effortful reflective evaluation process can follow. This evaluation can involve conscious consideration of physical activity-related affective states, derived from previous experience and/or mental simulation of possible future experiences, along with higher-order cognitive reasoning incorporating subjective beliefs and attitudes about physical activity. Of critical importance to these models, therefore, is the database of physical activity-related information held within long-term memory; specifically, these models suggest that an individual’s episodic memories of physical activity experiences, and how these experiences are interpreted in the present, may be critical in determining future physical activity behaviour.Episodic memories are summary records of specific experiences held within autobiographical memory; the human memory system whereby past experiences are integrated into an overarching life narrative (Fivush, 2011). Episodic memories are not stored as literal records of events within memory, but rather they are transitory dynamic mental constructions. Thus, in response to an associated cue, the constituent details, such as sensory, perceptual, conceptual, and affective information about that event, are pieced together so the individual can mentally re-experience the event. Evidence suggests that this reconstructive process can be cued directly, through automatic processes, or generatively, using a conscious and deliberate search mechanism (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000; Haque & Conway, 2001; Uzer et al, 2012). Therefore, when physical activity-related stimuli are encountered, episodic details pertaining to past physical activity experiences are likely to be activated and episodic memories reconstructed. The affective processing associated with the recall of past events can include remembered emotions, which involves recalling the affective responses one had when the events occurred. Furthermore, cognitively reconstructing these memories elicits ‘in the moment’ emotions at the point of recall (termed elicited emotions going forwards).The reconstructive nature of episodic recall means that it is a bias-prone process and the recollection of a particular experience can vary, for instance, as a function of time, cue type, mood state or current goals (Conway, 2009; Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). Such biases have been specifically evidenced with respect to physical activity; for instance, Zenko et al (2016) demonstrated that bouts of physical activity that ended pleasantly, whereby cycling intensity was decreased across the session rather than increased, were remembered more pleasantly up to 7 days post-activity. The bias-prone nature of episodic memory is important in the context of physical activity because it is argued that people do not necessarily repeat the experiences that gave them most pleasure, but rather the experiences that have left them with the most favourable memories (Kahneman et al, 1993). Thus, it is this affective processing of past events, in terms of both remembered and elicited emotions, that potentially holds a critical influence on one’s cognitive appraisals about physical activity and one’s likelihood to engage in, or disengage from, physical activity in the future. Kwan et al (2017) provide inital support for the potential role of remembered emotion, whereremembered affect reported immediately after a 30 minute treadmill session was associated with intentions to exercise and exercise behaviour over the subsequent 7 days. However, at present, we know little about the affective processing, in terms of both remembered and elicited emotions, associated with the broader spectrum of episodic physical activity memories held within autobiographical memory.The affective information that accompanies episodic memory recall forms part of a wider recollective experience that also includes one’s mental representations of the event. For instance, recall may be accompanied by mental representations that are vivid, rich in sensory detail and recalled from the first-person perspective, to the extent that one feels like one is re-experiencing it in the present. Alternatively, it might be hazy, incoherent, contain minimal sensory information, and/or be envisaged from a, more distant, third-person perspective (D’Argembeau et al., 2003). Together, the affective processing and mental representations accompanying memory recall are often referred to as the memory’s phenomenological characteristics; they have been widely investigated and shown to be influenced by a range of factors including memory type/valence, temporal distance and individual differences (e.g. D'Argembeau & Van der Linden, 2004; Rasmussen & Berntsen, 2009). The phenomenological differences evidenced across different memories and individuals are considered important because they have been implicated in the functionality of episodic memories. For instance, memories that are highly vivid, coherent, that produce emotionally intense feelings and that are closely aligned with one’s identity are more likely to guide and drive behaviour towards achieving one’s goals (Pillemer, 2003; Sutin et al, 2021).Arguably, therefore, episodic memories sit at the heart of the cognitive-affective processes that could determine whether an individual engages in physical activity or remains inactive. Considering this potentially fundamental role, surprisingly little is known about episodic physical activity memories and how they might differ among those who engage in varying amounts of physical activity. Whilst it is likely that most individuals can recall episodic memories of both positive and negative physical activity experiences from across their lifespan, the recollective experience that accompanies the recall of these episodes may differ across individuals. For example, inactive individuals might have negative physical activity memories that are more vivid, and elicit more intense negative affect, than active individuals. Understanding the content and phenomenology of inactive individuals’ memories might provide insights into how these past experiences could serve as cognitive barriers to physical activity. Comparatively, understanding the phenomenology of active individuals’ memories might give further understanding of the aspects of past experience that drive their continued engagement in physical activity.Therefore, the current investigation aimed to establish whether there are differences in the phenomenology of physical activity memories between physically active and inactive individuals. Functional theories of memory (e.g. Pillemar, 2003) suggest that memories associated with current goals and identity tend to be phenomenologically rich. Therefore, in line with this, it is proposed that physically active individuals are likely to have more vivid and detailed mental representations of memories of physical activity experiences, particularly those that are positive in valence. In contrast, it is suggested that inactive individuals might have more phenomenologically muted mental representations of memories related to positive physical activity experiences. Furthermore, hedonistic theories of physical activity motivation (e.g. Brand & Ekkekakis, 2018; Cheval & Boisgontier, 2021; Stevens et al, 2020) suggest that the remembered and elicited affect associated with past physical activity may serve as facilitators/barriers to physical activity engagement. Therefore, physically active individuals may have memories that are more likely to serve as affective facilitators, yielding more positive remembered and elicited emotions. In contrast, the memories of physically inactive individuals could contain features more likely to serve as affective barriers; for instance, negative physical activity memories that elicit strong negative emotions when recalled. Therefore, it was hypothesised that active, compared with inactive, individuals would consider their positive physical activity memories to be more vivid, coherent, containing more sensory details and feelings of re-living, and that their memories would be perceived more from a first-person rather than a third-person perspective. Furthermore, it was hypothesised that active individuals would experience more positive and intense emotions when recalling their positive physical activity memories. Conversely, it was hypothesised that inactive, compared with active, individuals would rate their negative physical activity memories as being more vivid, coherent, containing more sensory details and feeling of re-living, and that their memories would be perceived more from a first, rather than third, person perspective. In addition, inactive individuals would experience more negative and intense emotions when recalling their negative physical activity memories.It is feasible that any differences between active and inactive individuals with respect to memory phenomenology could be explained by differences in the content of the reported physical activity memories. For instance, previous research has suggested that the intensity of physical activity is a significant determinant of affective responses, with higher, compared with lower, intensities of activity eliciting more negative emotions (Ekkekakis et al, 2011). Additionally, other work has suggested that both group-based and outdoor activities are associated with better psychological health outcomes, compared with physical activities completed alone and/or indoors (e.g. Eime et al, 2013; Thompson Coon et al., 2011). Examining differences in the content of the memories recalled may, therefore, elucidate on factors that might underpin any differences in the phenomenological experience. For instance, the previous literature outlined above suggests that the recollection of episodes involving low intensity, group-based and outdoor activities could be accompanied by more positive affective processing. Memories were therefore content-coded for their social (i.e., were they engaging in physical activity individually/solo or as part of a group?), environmental (i.e., did they engage in physical activity indoors or outdoors?) context and the intensity of the physical activity (i.e. was the activity reported strenuous, moderate or mild intensity?). Finally, some research has suggested that negative school-based PE experiences impact later physical activity engagement (Cardinal et al, 2013; Lauristalo, 2012). Thus, all memories were also content-coded for their education context (i.e., did the activity activity occur at school or outside school?). These content analyses were exploratory, therefore we made no explicit hypotheses about whether differences would emerge between the active and inactive individuals