The frequency of voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memories across the life span.
Abstract
In the present study, ratings of the memory of an important event from the previous
week on the frequency of voluntary and involuntary retrieval, belief in its accuracy,
visual imagery, auditory imagery, setting, emotional intensity, valence, narrative
coherence, and centrality to the life story were obtained from 988 adults whose ages
ranged from 15 to over 90. Another 992 adults provided the same ratings for a memory
from their confirmation day, when they were at about age 14. The frequencies of involuntary
and voluntary retrieval were similar. Both frequencies were predicted by emotional
intensity and centrality to the life story. The results from the present study-which
is the first to measure the frequency of voluntary and involuntary retrieval for the
same events-are counter to both cognitive and clinical theories, which consistently
claim that involuntary memories are infrequent as compared with voluntary memories.
Age and gender differences are noted.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Association Learning
Attention
Auditory Perception
Culture
Emotions
Female
Humans
Imagination
Judgment
Life Change Events
Male
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Young Adult
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10079Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.3758/37.5.679Publication Info
Berntsen, D; & Rubin, David C (2009). The frequency of voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memories across the life
span. Mem Cognit, 37(5). pp. 679-688. 10.3758/37.5.679. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10079.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
David C. Rubin
Juanita M. Kreps Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
For .pdfs of all publications click here My main research interest has been in
long-term memory, especially for complex (or "real-world") stimuli. This work includes
the study of autobiographical memory

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