Reflective Abstract Processing Reduces Negative Emotions Independent of Self-Perspective.

This study tested predictions from Processing Mode Theory, Self-Distancing Theory, and the Construal Matching Hypothesis by manipulating processing mode (abstract vs. concrete), self-perspective (self-distanced vs. self-immersed), and the construal level of emotion (high-level vs.

COVID-19 memories young adults may share: exploring event properties and motivations for transmission.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left an enduring mark on human history. This study investigates the intergenerational transmission of COVID-19 memories through a unique approach involving 49 participants aged 18-30. Specifically, participants were prompted to share a COVID-19 memory they would choose to transmit to their future children.

Investigating traumatic memory integration in people with and without post-traumatic stress disorder using the event-cueing paradigm.

Poor integration and landmark views make opposing claims regarding the relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms and trauma memory integration. This study tested these approaches using an event cluster paradigm. In total, 126 participants ( = 61;  = 65) remembered memories from the same story as trauma, positive and neutral memories and reported whether each memory was directly retrieved or generated.

Ruminative reminiscence predicts COVID-related stress symptoms while reflective reminiscence and social reminiscence predict post-COVID growth.

Reminiscence refers to the process or act of thinking or telling about past experiences. Few studies address the relationship between reminiscence functions and trauma-related cognitions and emotions. This study aimed to expand the previous literature by investigating the frequency of different types of reminiscence during the COVID-19 pandemic and their relations to the likelihood of developing post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), using an adult sample.

Investigating the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and relationship satisfaction: mediating roles of negative affectivity and conflict resolution style.

Very few studies have investigated the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) and interpersonal variables; none has particularly focused on romantic relationship satisfaction. In the context of romantic relationships, this study aimed to identify whether SPS is a risk factor (hypothesizing that traits make individuals more vulnerable to the effects of adverse environments) or a susceptibility marker (hypothesizing that traits make individuals more susceptible to the effects of both nourishing and adverse environments). To understand this, we tested whether an increased level of SPS is associated with a decreased level of romantic relationship satisfaction through negative affectivity and conflict resolution styles.

Understanding intergenerational transmission of early maladaptive schemas from a memory perspective: Moderating role of overgeneral memory on adverse experiences.

Background: Previous studies demonstrated that early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are transmitted from mothers to children through adverse childhood experiences, such as maltreatment and unfulfilled core needs. The traumatic memory literature demonstrated that people with a history of trauma recall their traumatic and/or other negative experiences as categories of events-a phenomenon called overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM)-to avoid the accompanying intense negative feelings. In the long run, OGM originating from an affect-regulation process after childhood traumatic experiences can facilitate the development of EMSs in children.

Validity and reliability testing of the transitional impact scale.

The transitional impact scale (TIS) was developed to measure the quality and quantity of changes brought about by transitional events. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the TIS. Study 1 investigated the validity and internal consistency of the TIS among 445 participants (aged 18-73 years) who completed the TIS, beck anxiety inventory (BAI), centrality of event scale (CES), impact of event scale-revised (IES-R), and post-traumatic growth inventory.

Adverse childhood experiences lead to trans-generational transmission of early maladaptive schemas.

Background: According to schema theory, early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) are formed due to unsatisfied core emotional needs in childhood. However, there is limited research about the association between parent's EMS and the child's EMS.

Objective: The current study investigated the mechanisms underlying the relationship between the parent's disconnection and rejection schemas and the child's disconnection and rejection schemas.

Event centrality, transitional impact and symptoms of posttraumatic stress in a clinical sample.

There is growing research indicating that event centrality strongly predicts posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is not much research on what makes a traumatic event central to one's life story. One reason a traumatic memory becomes a reference point for one's life story is that it brings about significant changes in one's life.

The effect of cue content on retrieval from autobiographical memory.

It has long been argued that personal memories are usually generated in an effortful search process in word-cueing studies. However, recent research (Uzer, Lee, & Brown, 2012) shows that direct retrieval of autobiographical memories, in response to word cues, is common. This invites the question of whether direct retrieval phenomenon is generalizable beyond the standard laboratory paradigm.

Retrieving autobiographical memories: How different retrieval strategies associated with different cues explain reaction time differences.

Previous research has shown that memories cued by concrete concepts, such as objects, are retrieved faster than those cued by more abstract concepts, such as emotions. This effect has been explained by the fact that more memories are directly retrieved from object versus emotion cues. In the present study, we tested whether RT differences between memories cued by emotion versus object terms occur not only because object cues elicit direct retrieval of more memories (Uzer, Lee, & Brown, 2012), but also because of differences in memory generation in response to emotions versus objects.

Socioemotional selectivity in older adults: Evidence from the subjective experience of angry memories.

Few studies have compared the phenomenological properties of younger and older adults' memories for emotional events. Some studies suggest that younger adults remember negative information more vividly than positive information whereas other studies suggest that positive emotion yields phenomenologically richer memories than negative emotion for both younger and older adults. One problem with previous studies is a tendency to treat emotion as a dichotomous variable.

The transitional impact scale: assessing the material and psychological impact of life transitions.

The Transitional Impact Scale (TIS) advances the measurement of event cognition into the real world. The TIS was created to provide a measure of change for important life transitions, including an index of their transitional properties and magnitude. Pilot work prior to Study 1 led to the creation of a 95-item version (TIS-95).

On the prevalence of directly retrieved autobiographical memories.

In this study, we used process measures to understand how people recall autobiographical memories in response to different word cues. In Experiment 1, participants provided verbal protocols when cued by object and emotion words. Participants also reported whether memories had come directly to mind.