Blagov Pavel S, Singer Jefferson A, Oost Kathryn M, Goodman Joshua A
Psychology Department, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, USA.
Psychology Department, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, USA.
J Pers. 2022 Jun;90(3):457-475. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12677. Epub 2021 Oct 24.
Self-defining memories (SDMs) are units of life-story analysis, whose features resemble elements from narrative identity's factorial structure. To bridge narrative-identity and personality-trait domains, we conducted a replication and extension of prior research.
We linked four SDM features - affect, specificity, meaning making, and content - to the Big Three trait domains of personality and psychopathology in a small sample that was well-powered for multilevel modeling (133 participants, 1330 SDMs).
Affect SDM affect correlated with indices of Positive Emotionality and Negative Emotionality, and narrative themes of contamination were associated with Negative Emotionality. Specificity SDM specificity vs. overgenerality related to Constraint and Negative Emotionality indices, lending support to the executive dysfunction and emotional disorder theories of overgeneral autobiographical memory. (Tests of the avoidance thesis of overgeneral memory were inconclusive.) Meaning making Explicit meaning making in SDMs reflected adaptive personality. It moderated (or buffered) the link between SDMs' affect and chronic emotional distress. Content The links between SDM content and traits suggest that SDMs reflect personal goals, whose fulfillment or frustration relate to psychological health.
This research serves replication purposes as well as the purpose of connecting two major domains of personality: narrative identity and adaptive and maladaptive traits.
自我定义记忆（SDMs）是生活故事分析的单元，其特征类似于叙事身份因子结构中的元素。为了在叙事身份和人格特质领域之间建立联系，我们对先前的研究进行了重复和扩展。
我们将四个SDM特征——情感、特异性、意义构建和内容——与人格和精神病理学的三大特质领域联系起来，样本量较小，但足以进行多层次建模（133名参与者，1330个SDM）。
情感SDM情感与积极情绪和消极情绪指标相关，污染叙事主题与消极情绪相关。特异性SDM特异性与过度概括性与约束和消极情绪指标相关，为过度概括自传体记忆的执行功能障碍和情绪障碍理论提供了支持。（对过度概括记忆的回避论点的测试尚无定论。）意义构建SDM中的明确意义构建反映了适应性人格。它调节（或缓冲）了SDM情感与慢性情绪困扰之间的联系。内容SDM内容与特质之间的联系表明，SDM反映了个人目标，其实现或受挫与心理健康有关。
本研究既服务于重复目的，也服务于连接人格两个主要领域的目的：叙事身份以及适应性和适应不良特质。
