Cao Xiancai, Madore Kevin P, Wang Dahua, Schacter Daniel L
a Institute of Developmental Psychology , Beijing Normal University , Beijing , People's Republic of China.
b Department of Psychology , Stanford University , Stanford , CA , USA.
Memory. 2018 Sep;26(8):1140-1150. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1434800. Epub 2018 Feb 5.
Attachment theories and studies have shown that Internal Working Models (IWMs) can impact autobiographical memory and future-oriented information processing relevant to close relationships. According to the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis (CESH), both remembering the past and imagining the future rely on episodic memory. We hypothesised that one way IWMs may bridge past experiences and future adaptations is via episodic memory. The present study investigated the association between attachment and episodic specificity in attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant memory and imagination among young and older adults. We measured the attachment style of 37 young adults and 40 older adults, and then asked them to remember or imagine attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant events. Participants' narratives were coded for internal details (i.e., episodic) and external details (e.g., semantic, repetitions). The results showed that across age group, secure individuals generated more internal details and fewer external details in attachment-relevant tasks compared to attachment-irrelevant tasks; these differences were not observed in insecure individuals. These findings support the CESH and provide a new perspective to understand the function of IWMs.
依恋理论及研究表明,内部工作模型(IWMs)会影响与亲密关系相关的自传体记忆以及面向未来的信息处理。根据建构性情景模拟假说(CESH),回忆过去和想象未来都依赖于情景记忆。我们推测,IWMs 连接过去经历与未来适应的一种方式可能是通过情景记忆。本研究调查了年轻人和老年人在与依恋相关及不相关的记忆和想象中,依恋与情景特异性之间的关联。我们测量了 37 名年轻人和 40 名老年人的依恋风格,然后要求他们回忆或想象与依恋相关及不相关的事件。对参与者的叙述进行编码,记录内部细节(即情景性的)和外部细节(例如语义、重复内容)。结果显示,在各个年龄组中,与不涉及依恋的任务相比,安全型个体在与依恋相关的任务中产生的内部细节更多,外部细节更少;在不安全型个体中未观察到这些差异。这些发现支持了 CESH,并为理解 IWMs 的功能提供了新的视角。