Incomplete inhibition of emotion in specific autobiographical memories

Abstract

Emotional inhibition in recollection of specific autobiographical memories (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000) is investigated in two experiments. Less complete emotional inhibition was hypothesised to correspond to a reduced sense of psychological closure. Emotional inhibition was identified by comparing the effect of emotion words relative to lifetime period words as primes. In Experiment 1, emotion words facilitated recognition judgements of descriptions of remembered experiences rated low in closure. In Experiment 2, emotion words facilitated recognition judgements of descriptions of a laboratory experience made lower in closure. A sense of psychological closure may therefore be a prerequisite for strategic emotional inhibition. Implications for adjustment and goal pursuit are discussed.

The retrieval of self-defining memories is associated with the activation of specific working selves

“…Lardi et al (2010) found that integration is not related to affect changes, but making connections between the memory and one's personality is associated with a decrease in positive affect. Other studies (Beike, Adams, & Wirth-Beaumont, 2007;Beike & WirthBeaumont, 2005) have found that open memories (which may be non-integrative) elicit more intense emotions upon retrieval than closed memories (which may be integrative). Finally, individuals experience lower levels of distress while describing a traumatic or stressful memory if they express their subjective perspective or evaluation of it .…”

Regret as autobiographical memory

“…Specific memories take longer to retrieve in response to affect cues than they do to activity and object cues (Robinson, 1976) or lifetime periods (Conway & Bekerian, 1987), and although Linton (1986) placed valence at the top of her hierarchy, she found emotion labels themselves to be very poor memory cues, as others have also found (Beike, Adams & Wirth-Beaumont, 2007;Reiser, Black & Abelson, 1985).…”

When experienced regret refuses to fade: Regrets of action and attempting to forget open life regrets

“…Measures included items about intensity of experienced regret and disappointment , personal responsibility, opportunity and motivation to remedy the life regret, a six-item measure of closure (Beike et al, 2007; a = .86 at immediate measure and .84 at follow-up), and two items assessing the intensity of emotion experienced at the time of the event and now. They also completed the PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988; for positive affect, a = .86; for negative affect, a = .88) using a five point scale.…”

“…This sense of closure affects both the number of emotions the person recalls experiencing at the time, and the intensity of emotion the person experiences when recalling the event (Beike & Wirth-Beaumont, 2005). We employed a simpler way to manipulate closure, which also alters the emotional content of the memory: Participants were asked to consider ways in which their life regret was open (''unfinished business") versus closed (''a closed book") to them (Beike, Adams, & Wirth-Beaumont, 2007).…”

“…An open life regret was defined as ''unfinished business," and a closed life regret as ''a closed book" (Beike et al, 2007;Savitsky et al, 1997); an example followed. Participants were asked to briefly describe ''reasons or ways in which this regret could be considered OPEN (CLOSED) for you."…”