Autobiographical memory and psychopathology: Is memory specificity as important as we make it seem?

Abstract

Several decades of research have established reduced autobiographical memory specificity, or overgeneral memory, as an important cognitive factor associated with the risk for and maintenance of a range of psychiatric diagnoses. In measuring this construct, experimenters code autobiographical memories for the presence or absence of a single temporal detail that indicates that the remembered event took place on a single, specific, day (Last Thursday when I rode bikes with my son), or multiple days (When I rode bikes with my son). Studies indicate that the specificity of memories and the amount of other episodic detail that they include (e.g., who, what, and where) are related and may rely on the same neural processes to elicit their retrieval. However, specificity and detailedness are nonetheless separable constructs: imperfectly correlated and differentially associated with current and future depressive symptoms and other associated intrapersonal (e.g., rumination) and interpersonal (e.g., social support) outcomes. The ways in which the details of our memories align with narrative themes (i.e., agency, communion, identity) and the coherence with which these details are presented, are also emerging as important factors associated with psychopathology. The temporal specificity of autobiographical memories may be important, but other memory constructs warrant further attention in research and theory, especially given the associations, and dependencies, between each of these constructs. Researchers in this area must consider carefully whether their research questions necessitate a focus on autobiographical memory specificity or whether a more inclusive analysis of other autobiographical memory features is necessary and more fruitful. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Memory

The interdisciplinary science of autobiographical memory

“…Barry et al (2023) present several perspectives about the importance of autobiographical specificity and its unique predictive function in psychopathology. They emphasize how further research is needed to understand the association between autobiographical memory specificity and detailedness.…”

“…This interdisciplinary approach is further implemented within each of the 12 contributions. Indeed, Barry et al (2023) present an intersection between clinical and cognitive psychology, Bulteau et al (2023) bring cognitive psychology and psychiatry together, while Fan et al (2023) is based on both neurosciences and experimental psychology.…”

“…The link between autobiographical memory and the self is assessed through the perspectives of function and dysfunction by Brown (2023) and by Bulteau et al (2023), respectively. Similarly, autobiographical specificity is addressed within the framework of psychiatry (by Barry et al, 2023;Brown, 2023;Bulteau et al, 2023) and neurology (by Fan…”

“…The link between autobiographical memory and the self is assessed through the perspectives of function and dysfunction by Brown (2023) and by Bulteau et al (2023), respectively. Similarly, autobiographical specificity is addressed within the framework of psychiatry (by Barry et al, 2023; Brown, 2023; Bulteau et al, 2023) and neurology (by Fan et al, 2023; Irish, 2023; Kaiser & Berntsen, 2023; Markowitsch & Staniloiu, 2023). As for autobiographical memory, it is investigated through the perspectives of developmental psychology (Fivush & Grysman, 2023), social psychology (Heux et al, 2023), experimental psychology (Sow et al, 2023), and philosophy (Moulin et al, 2023).…”

“…This special issue is a collaborative project that has brought together a multi-disciplinary team to develop and defend ideas about the understanding of autobiographical memory, and about how future research should address the richness and complexity of autobiographical (dys)function (see, Table 1 for authors in alphabetical order). Barry et al (2023) present several perspectives about the importance of autobiographical specificity and its unique predictive function in psychopathology. They emphasize how further research is needed to understand the association between autobiographical memory specificity and detailedness.…”