No abstract

Psychological treatment and assessment necessarily rely on patients' recall. Yet several empirical studies have documented a gap between memory and real-life experience (i.e., memoryexperience gap; MeG). We investigated and compared the MeG of sadness, social anxiety, happiness, and physical activity for participants diagnosed with a major depressive disorder (MDD), a social phobia (SP), and participants without such diagnoses (CG).The study included 118 participants diagnosed with a MDD, 47 with a SP, and 119 CG.Using event-sampling methods (ESM), participants were asked via smartphone to report their experiences throughout a week and then to recall those again retrospectively at the end of the study week.Results indicate significant differences in the MeG with respect to the experience that was salient to them (e.g., MDD groupsadness; SP groupsocial anxiety; CG grouphappiness). Furthermore, all groups showed a MeG for physical activity and, the results indicate significant group differences in the magnitude of the MeGs.This study demonstrated the presence of a MeG in individuals in a MDD, SP, and CG group and in positive and negative affective experiences. Differential patterns across the samples contribute to a better understanding of this gap and its implications.

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The tension between selfishness and prosocial behavior is crucial to understanding many social interactions and conflicts. Currently little is known how to promote prosocial behaviors, especially in naturally occurring relationships outside the laboratory. We examined whether a psychological micro-intervention would promote prosocial behaviors in couples. Across two studies, we randomized dyads of couples to a micro-intervention (15 min), which increased prosocial behaviors by 28% and decreased selfish behaviors by 35% a week later in behavioral games in a dose–response manner. Using event sampling methodology, we further observed an increase in prosocial behaviors across one week that was most pronounced in participants who received the intervention. These results from the laboratory and everyday life are important for researchers interested in prosocial behavior and selfishness and have practical relevance for group interactions.