Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.

Autobiographical memories are retrieved as images from either a field perspective or an observer perspective. The observer perspective is thought to dull emotion. Positive affect is blunted in depressed mood. Consequently, are positive events recalled from an observer perspective in depressed mood?...

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Main Authors: Nelis, S, Debeer, E, Holmes, E, Raes, F
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2013
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author Nelis, S
Debeer, E
Holmes, E
Raes, F
author_facet Nelis, S
Debeer, E
Holmes, E
Raes, F
author_sort Nelis, S
collection OXFORD
description Autobiographical memories are retrieved as images from either a field perspective or an observer perspective. The observer perspective is thought to dull emotion. Positive affect is blunted in depressed mood. Consequently, are positive events recalled from an observer perspective in depressed mood? We investigated the relationship between memory vantage perspective and depressive symptoms in a student sample. Participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams and Broadbent, 1986) and assessed the perspective accompanying each memory. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996) and the Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire (RPA; Feldman, Joormann, and Johnson, 2008) were administered. The results showed a small positive association between depressive symptoms and the use of an observer perspective for positive autobiographical memories, but not for negative memories. Furthermore, comparing a subgroup with clinically significant symptom levels (dysphoric students) with non-dysphoric individuals revealed that dysphoric students used an observer perspective more for positive memories compared with negative memories. This was not the case for non-dysphoric students. The observer perspective in dysphorics was associated with a dampening cognitive style in response to positive experiences.
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spelling oxford-uuid:4ef5cbaa-caae-4eab-9bf4-773af613a0c72022-03-26T16:04:17ZDysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:4ef5cbaa-caae-4eab-9bf4-773af613a0c7EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2013Nelis, SDebeer, EHolmes, ERaes, FAutobiographical memories are retrieved as images from either a field perspective or an observer perspective. The observer perspective is thought to dull emotion. Positive affect is blunted in depressed mood. Consequently, are positive events recalled from an observer perspective in depressed mood? We investigated the relationship between memory vantage perspective and depressive symptoms in a student sample. Participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams and Broadbent, 1986) and assessed the perspective accompanying each memory. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996) and the Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire (RPA; Feldman, Joormann, and Johnson, 2008) were administered. The results showed a small positive association between depressive symptoms and the use of an observer perspective for positive autobiographical memories, but not for negative memories. Furthermore, comparing a subgroup with clinically significant symptom levels (dysphoric students) with non-dysphoric individuals revealed that dysphoric students used an observer perspective more for positive memories compared with negative memories. This was not the case for non-dysphoric students. The observer perspective in dysphorics was associated with a dampening cognitive style in response to positive experiences.
spellingShingle Nelis, S
Debeer, E
Holmes, E
Raes, F
Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.
title Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.
title_full Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.
title_fullStr Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.
title_full_unstemmed Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.
title_short Dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories.
title_sort dysphoric students show higher use of the observer perspective in their retrieval of positive versus negative autobiographical memories
work_keys_str_mv AT neliss dysphoricstudentsshowhigheruseoftheobserverperspectiveintheirretrievalofpositiveversusnegativeautobiographicalmemories
AT debeere dysphoricstudentsshowhigheruseoftheobserverperspectiveintheirretrievalofpositiveversusnegativeautobiographicalmemories
AT holmese dysphoricstudentsshowhigheruseoftheobserverperspectiveintheirretrievalofpositiveversusnegativeautobiographicalmemories
AT raesf dysphoricstudentsshowhigheruseoftheobserverperspectiveintheirretrievalofpositiveversusnegativeautobiographicalmemories