D'Argembeau Arnaud, Van der Linden Martial
University of Liege, Belgium.
Memory. 2008;16(5):538-47. doi: 10.1080/09658210802010463.
People's self-images are grounded in autobiographical memories and, in particular, in the phenomenological experience associated with remembering. The desire to increase or maintain the positivity of the self-image (i.e., the self-enhancement motive) might thus play an important role in shaping memory phenomenology. This study examined this hypothesis by asking participants to recall positive and negative events that involve self-evaluations (i.e., pride and shame) and positive and negative events that involve evaluations about others (i.e., admiration and contempt); various phenomenological characteristics (e.g., sensory details, feeling of re-experiencing) were assessed using rating scales. The results show a positivity bias (i.e., subjectively remembering positive events with more details than negative events) for events that involve self-evaluations but not for events that involve evaluations of others. In addition, this bias was stronger for people high in self-esteem. It is concluded that biases affecting the phenomenology of autobiographical memory are part of the arsenal of psychological mechanisms people use to maintain a positive self-image.
人们的自我形象基于自传体记忆，尤其是与记忆相关的现象学体验。因此，增强或维持自我形象积极性的愿望（即自我提升动机）可能在塑造记忆现象学方面发挥重要作用。本研究通过要求参与者回忆涉及自我评价（即自豪和羞耻）的积极和消极事件以及涉及对他人评价（即钦佩和轻蔑）的积极和消极事件来检验这一假设；使用评分量表评估各种现象学特征（如感官细节、重新体验的感觉）。结果显示，对于涉及自我评价的事件存在积极偏向（即主观上回忆积极事件比消极事件有更多细节），但对于涉及对他人评价的事件则不存在。此外，这种偏向在高自尊者中更强。研究得出结论，影响自传体记忆现象学的偏向是人们用来维持积极自我形象的心理机制之一。
