Lay Jennifer C, Ho Yuen Wan, Tse Dwight C K, Tse Jimmy T K, Jiang Da
Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Department of Psychology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
J Pers. 2025 Feb;93(1):174-192. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12971. Epub 2024 Aug 16.
Affect recall is key to psychological assessment and decision-making. However, self-concepts (self-beliefs) may bias retrospective affect reports such that they deviate from lived experiences. Does this experience-memory gap apply to solitude experiences? We hypothesized that individuals misremember how they feel overall and when in solitude, in line with self-concepts of introversion, self-determined/not-self-determined solitude motivations, and independent/interdependent self-construal. A pilot study comparing retrospective to daily affect reports captured over 2 weeks (N = 104 UK university students) provided preliminary evidence of introversion and not-self-determined solitude shaping affect recall.
In the main pre-registered study, participants aged 18-49 in the UK (N = 160) and Hong Kong (N = 159) reported their momentary affective states and social situations 5 times per day over 7 days, then recalled how they felt over the week.
Individuals higher in self-determined solitude were more prone to retrospectively overestimate their high- and low-arousal positive affect in solitude and showed less overestimation/more underestimation of negative affect in solitude. Higher not-self-determined solitude was associated with overestimating loneliness, and higher interdependent self-construal with overestimating loneliness and energy levels, in solitude. Comparisons based on residence/ethnicity suggest culture influences solitude-seeking and affective memory. Implications for well-being and affect measurement are discussed.
情感回忆是心理评估和决策的关键。然而，自我概念（自我信念）可能会使回顾性情感报告产生偏差，从而使其偏离实际经历。这种经验与记忆的差距是否适用于独处经历？我们假设，个体在回忆独处时的总体感受以及当时的感受时会出现记忆偏差，这与内向性的自我概念、自我决定/非自我决定的独处动机以及独立/相互依存的自我建构一致。一项为期两周（N = 104名英国大学生）的比较回顾性情感报告与日常情感报告的试点研究，为内向性和非自我决定的独处对情感回忆的影响提供了初步证据。
在主要的预先注册研究中，英国（N = 160）和香港（N = 159）年龄在18至49岁之间的参与者在7天内每天报告5次他们的即时情感状态和社交情况，然后回忆他们在这一周的感受。
自我决定的独处程度较高的个体更倾向于在回顾时高估自己在独处时的高唤醒和低唤醒积极情感，而在独处时对消极情感的高估较少/低估较多。较高的非自我决定的独处与高估孤独感相关，较高的相互依存的自我建构与在独处时高估孤独感和精力水平相关。基于居住地/种族的比较表明文化会影响寻求独处和情感记忆。文中讨论了对幸福感和情感测量的影响。
