Autobiographical memory: structure, function, and retrieval processes

Autobiographical Memory

How we remember our own lives is a huge factor in how we view ourselves in general. As such, our autobiographical memory can both impact and be impacted by our mood and mindset. The concept of the autobiographical memory is incredibly complex, and is often varied based on individual experiences and mood sets.

The notion of the autobiographical memory is a complicated one for sure. There is a vast body of research that uses it in a number of contexts, but still a similar pattern emerges. Essentially, "autobiographical memory is the aspect of memory that is concerned with the recollection of personally experienced past events" (Williams et al., 2007). It is our own recollection of how we view our past to have occurred. As such, the "autobiographical memory is of fundamental significance for the self, for emotions, and for the experience of personhood, that is for the experience of enduring as an individual, in a culture, over time" (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). How we remember the events of our past can significantly impact our future.

The first study examined here is Conway & Pleydell-Pearce (2000). It is a study that focuses on explaining the autobiographical memory as one which is flexible, based on transitory elements. Here, the research states that "memories are transitory mental constructions within a self-memory system" (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). The notion of the self is in many ways dependent on the ability to process autobiographical memories because it is "a working self" (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). Essentially, it helps us writer our own memories of ourselves, and is thus subject to our own biases and preconceptions in that they may taint our recollection of events.

It is interesting to see how the individual's autobiographical memory is actually impacted by various factors that are unique to that individual. One 2007 research study done by Williams et al. explored the idea of how mood impacts an individual's ability to regularly process autobiographical memories. This shows a variation within autobiographical memory that is impacted by mood. Williams et al. (2007) examines individuals being affected by depression and how their ability to properly recall autobiographical memories is impacted by their depression. The study itself explores the concept with a review of the discourse. Thorough review of the literature in a content analysis of the current discourse, the study explores common findings in regards to autobiographical concept and depression. This makes the assumption that autobiographical memories are often related to mood. Williams et al. (2007) shows that "individuals in a sad mood were shown to recall negative events relatively faster than positive events." As such, there are clear alterations to the typical process of the autobiographical memory process. The study itself focuses on the relationship between autobiographical memory and the "psychopathology of emotion: overgenerality" (Williams et al., 2007). As such, the discourse examines the concept that those faced with depression often tend to show a different overgenerality than other individuals. The "level of overgeneral memory might be related to experience of trauma in addition to a diagnosis of depression" (Williams et al., 2007). As such, this would show that there are levels of mood which could impact autobiographical memory retention and recall. The findings of the concept that overgeneral memory "is that the recollection of general descriptions may produce less affect than the recollection of specific episodic memories, thus enabling current goal pursuit to be maintained in the face of potential deflection" (Williams et al., 2007). This shows a variation in autobiographical memory retention and recall.