Autobiographical Memory, Past and Future Events, and Self-images in Younger and Older Adults

Chessell, Zoë J.; Rathbone, Clare J.; Souchay, Céline; Charlesworth, Lara; Moulin, Chris J. A.

doi:10.1080/15298868.2013.836132

Cited by 41 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…This suggests that the positivity effect in ageing established for episodic autobiographical memories (e.g. Kennedy et al, 2004) may not extend to semantic self-images, replicating recent work by Chessell, Rathbone, Souchay, Charlesworth, and Moulin (2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: The central role of semantic self-images

Rathbone

Holmes

Murphy

et al. 2015

Consciousness and Cognition

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Higher levels of well-being are associated with longer life expectancies and better physical health. Previous studies suggest that processes involving the self and autobiographical memory are related to well-being, yet these relationships are poorly understood. The present study tested 32 older and 32 younger adults using scales measuring well-being and the affective valence of two types of autobiographical memory: episodic autobiographical memories and semantic self-images. Results showed that valence of semantic self-images, but not episodic autobiographical memories, was highly correlated with well-being, particularly in older adults. In contrast, well-being in older adults was unrelated to performance across a range of standardised memory tasks. These results highlight the role of semantic self-images in well-being, and have implications for the development of therapeutic interventions for well-being in aging.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: The central role of semantic self-images

Rathbone

Holmes

Murphy

et al. 2015

Consciousness and Cognition

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“…As several generations in Turkey and Serbia have grown up heavily exposed to Western culture, it is to be expected that these young adults would be more similar to individuals from a typical Western country than to young adults from more traditional cultures. Advances in replicates previous studies by Chessell et al (2014) and Rathbone et al (2011) and suggests that young adults may only focus on the relatively near future when considering the type of person they are likely to become in the future. This finding broadly echoes results from Conway et al (2005), who showed that whilst the reminiscence bump occurs at approximately the same age across cultures, the content of the memories within the reminiscence bump is subject to cross-cultural variation.…”

supporting

confidence: 67%

“…We did not have specific predictions about these variables, other than that it was expected that the Serbian and Turkish participants would generate more possible selves involving others than the UK participants, reflecting previous work on the self-concept in interdependent and independent cultures (e.g., Rhee et al, 1995). We were also interested in the temporal distribution of possible selves, and predicted that participants from all cultures would date possible selves as emerging a mean of six to eight years into the future (e.g., Chessell et al, 2014;Rathbone et al, 2011).…”

Section: Aimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst young adults have a tendency to date possible selves as developing 6-8 years in the future, Chessell et al (2014) found that older adults dated possible selves closer to the present (a mean of 2.6 years in the future). We know little about the mechanism behind the dating of possible selves; it may reflect differences in cultural life scripts for different age groups or it may be a function of age-related changes in future time perspective (Spreng & Levine, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…This was an empirical question. Previous work has found that young adults in the UK date possible selves as emerging at a mean of only 6.35 (Chessell, Rathbone, Souchay & Moulin, 2014) and 7.39 (Rathbone et al, 2011) years into the future, despite having almost the whole lifespan to sample from. We aimed to investigate whether this short-term temporal focus would be replicated in the UK sample, and extend to participants from other cultures.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

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Imagining the future: A cross-cultural perspective on possible selves

Rathbone

Salgado

Akan

et al. 2016

Consciousness and Cognition

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This study examined the impact of culture on the qualitative and quantitative features of possible selves. Young adults from Turkey (n = 55), Serbia (n = 64), and the United Kingdom (n = 73) generated images of eight possible selves (e.g. I will be a doctor) which were dated and rated for vividness, positivity, imagery perspective, rehearsal, and according to whether or not they involved other people. All possible selves were coded according to categories (e.g. job, parenthood, self-improvement). There were cross-cultural differences in the types of possible selves generated and in the ratings for vividness, positivity, and rehearsal. Across all three cultures, specific possible selves were more frequently generated than abstract possible selves. Specific possible selves were rated as significantly more vivid and were dated as emerging later than abstract possible selves. Results are discussed with reference to cultural life scripts and the effects of culture on future cognitions.

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Possible Selves

Brown

2015

The Encyclopedia of Adulthood and Aging

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Possible selves are both hoped‐for and feared future goals that people are motivated to achieve or avoid throughout their lifespans. As people age, their current possible selves are influenced by their past possible selves and environmental factors such as culture, race, and gender. Possible selves can be altered with environmental change, which can impact both current and future possible selves over a lifetime. This entry examines the content of possible selves and how culture, race, and gender influence possible selves for both younger and older adults; it also discusses the measurement of possible selves and future directions in possible selves research.

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Autobiographical Memory, Past and Future Events, and Self-images in Younger and Older Adults

Cited by 41 publications

References 61 publications

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: The central role of semantic self-images

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: The central role of semantic self-images

Imagining the future: A cross-cultural perspective on possible selves

Possible Selves

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