Comparison of Earliest and Later Autobiographical Memories in Young and Middle-Aged Adults

Abstract

The current study examined earliest memories of young and middle-aged adults in comparison to a recent autobiographical memory and a free-report one from any life phase. These three types of memories were compared in terms of their memory characteristics such as vividness, emotionality, importance, confidence, and rehearsal frequency. A total of 319 young (18-30 years) and 112 middle-aged (40-65 years) adults completed the online survey. Results showed that earliest memories were rated either similar to or lower than later memories in their memory characteristics. More specifically, they received lower ratings than freereport memories in all memory characteristics whereas they did not significantly differ from recent memories only in importance and emotionality. In addition, free-report memories were highest in emotionality, importance and rehearsal frequency whereas recent memories were highest in vividness and confidence ratings. Compared to young adults, middle-aged adults provided higher ratings for all memory characteristics in general, and they further recalled earliest memories from an older age. Finally, the order of reporting the three types of memories (earliest memory first versus recent memory first) was examined with respect to its potential influence on memory characteristics and dating of the recalled memories. Results displayed no significant effect of the reporting order on memory characteristics. Dating of the earliest and free-report memories, however, was significantly affected by the reporting order. The mean age for earliest memories was higher when it was retrieved following the recent memory compared to the reporting order in which earliest memories are retrieved and reported first. Overall, results indicated that earliest memories are not particularly special compared to later memories (e.g., free-report memories) in terms of their memory characteristics, and they are vulnerable to experimental manipulation such as changing the reporting order just like other types of autobiographical memories.

Keywords

• Earliest memory,age group differences,midlife

Genç ve Orta Yaşlı Yetişkinlerin En Eski ve Daha Sonraki Otobiyografik Anılarının Karşılaştırılması

Abstract

Bu araştırma genç ve orta yaştaki yetişkinlerin en eski anılarını, yakın geçmişlerinden hatırladıkları anıları (yakın) ve hayatlarının herhangi bir evresinden hatırladıkları anıları (serbest) karşılaştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Bu üç tip anı (en eski, yakın ve serbest), canlılık, duygusallık, önem, eminlik ve tekrar sıklığı gibi anı özellikleri açısından karşılaştırılmıştır. Toplam 319 genç (18-30 yaş) ve 112 orta yaştaki (40-65 yaş) yetişkin internet üzerinden çevrimiçi olarak anketi tamamlamıştır. Bulgular en eski anıların sonraki iki anı tipine kıyasla olay özellikleri bakımından ya benzer ya da daha düşük değerlendirildiğini göstermiştir. Daha detaylı açıklamak gerekirse, en eski anıların serbest anılara oranla tüm olay özelliklerinde anlamlı düzeyde düşük değerlendirilmiş olduğu, yakın anılara kıyasla ise duygusallık ve önem özellikleri dışında geri kalan tüm olay özelliklerinde aynı şekilde düşük değerlendirilmiş olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Buna ek olarak, serbest anıların duygusallık, önem ve tekrar sıklığı özelliklerinde en yüksek değerleri gösterirken yakın otobiyografik anıların canlılık ve eminlik özelliklerinde en yüksek değerleri gösterdiği görülmüştür. Yaş grupları arasındaki farklılıklar incelendiğinde ise orta yaştaki yetişkinlerin genel olarak tüm olay özelliklerinde genç yetişkinlere kıyasla daha yüksek değerlendirmeler yaptıkları ve en eski anılarını daha geç yaşlardan hatırladıkları gözlemlenmiştir. Son olarak, bu üç anı tipinin hatırlanma ya da rapor edilme sırasının (en eski anının ilk anlatılması veya yakın anının ilk anlatılması) olay özellikleri ve hatırlanan anıların tarihinin saptanması üzerinde olası etkileri incelenmiştir. Bulgular, anı tiplerinin rapor edilme sırasının olay özellikleri üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisi olmadığını göstermiştir. Fakat, hatırlanma sırası hatırlanmış olan en eski ve serbest anıların zaman tahminlerini anlamlı düzeyde etkilemiştir. Örneğin, en eski anıların geldiği ortalama yaşın, yakın anılardan sonra çağırıldıklarında ilk olarak en eski anının hatırlandığı duruma kıyasla daha yüksek olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Genel olarak, bulgular en eski anıların olay özellikleri bakımından diğer anı tiplerine göre çok da özel olmadığını ve rapor edilme sırasının değiştirilmesi gibi deneysel manipülasyonların etkisine diğer anılara benzer şekilde açık olduklarını öne sürmüştür.

Keywords

• En eski anılar,yaş grupları farklılıkları,orta yaş

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