Reconciling a phenomenological with a functional approach to memory: narrative coherence and its social function.

To date, the phenomenological and functional aspects of autobiographical memory have by and large been studied separately. This is quite remarkable, given that both can inform each other, and that investigating their interaction can add to the understanding of the (in)adaptivity of certain memory characteristics for our well-being. In other words, examining how particular features of autobiographical memory are adept or inept at serving specific functions, could help us to better comprehend and explain relations between memory and psychological well-being. We discuss previous attempts to integrate phenomenology with functionality and formulate three main directions for future research based on the current state of the art. The directions concern (1) focusing on functionality (adaptivity) and not merely on the use of memories in phenomenological work, (2) attention for the bidirectionality of the relation between phenomenology and functionality, and (3) the addition of narrative constructs like coherence to the traditional range of phenomenological features. We will illustrate our directions for the reintegration of phenomenology with functionality through the social function of coherent autobiographical memories. This framework could help to stimulate future empirical studies and pave the road for new clinical interventions to improve psychological well-being.

Narrative coherence predicts emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a two-year longitudinal study.

Prior research has shown that narrative coherence is associated with more positive emotional responses in the face of traumatic or stressful experiences. However, most of these studies only examined narrative coherence after the stressor had already occurred. Given the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 in March 2020 in Belgium and the presence of data obtained two years before (February 2018), we could use our baseline narrative coherence data to predict emotional well-being and perceived social support in the midst of the pandemic. In a sample of emerging adults (NT1 = 278, NT2 = 198), higher baseline coherence of narratives about positive autobiographical experiences predicted relative increases in emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the relation between the coherence of positive narratives and emotional well-being was partially mediated by perceived social support. These findings suggest that narrative coherence could be an enhancement factor for adaptive emotional coping with stressful situations, in part by evoking more supportive social reactions. This study demonstrates the importance of researching cognition (narrative coherence) and emotion (well-being) to shed light on pressing societal matters such as the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Be coherent and become heard: The multidimensional impact of narrative coherence on listeners' social responses.

Previous research has suggested that sharing autobiographical memories in a coherent manner has a beneficial impact on consequent social reactions of listeners. In this experimental study, we were able to replicate earlier findings by demonstrating that listeners (N = 107) showed significantly more willingness to interact with, more social support towards, and a more positive attitude towards coherent than incoherent narrators. Remarkably, these beneficial effects of coherence were observed only for narratives about positive memories. Results are explained in the light of the relevance of positive memories for the social bonding function of autobiographical memory. Furthermore, earlier work was extended and refined by investigating effects of the individual constituting dimensions of coherence (context, chronology, theme) on social responses. In line with our predictions, the dimensions of chronology and theme were most important in impacting social responses of listeners. Possibly a reduction of the attraction effect due to increased effortful processing and reduced credibility due to insufficient emotional elaboration might explain these results respectively. Furthermore, social responses were worse when narratives were incoherent with regard to more than one dimension, in line with the expected additive effect. Overall, fully incoherent narratives, which had had low scores on context, chronology, and theme, had the most adverse effect on listeners' social responses. This study adds significantly to the domain of memory and cognition by showing how cognitive psychological research would benefit from extending a merely intrapersonal perspective to include an interpersonal perspective that considers social implications of memory and cognition as well.

How am I going to tell you this? The relations between social anxiety and narrative coherence.

Recently, evidence has been increasing that individuals who are able to narrate coherently about their autobiographical memories, receive more positive social feedback, have higher-quality social relationships and are overall less likely to suffer from internalising psychopathology, like depression and anxiety. However, the relation between narrative coherence and social anxiety, in particular, has not been topic of research until now. This is remarkable, since the concern about negative evaluations by others in social situations is at the core of social anxiety. In the present experimental study (N = 68), we investigated in a two-by-two design how trait and state social anxiety are related to narrative coherence, as well as possible underlying mechanisms. In our study, neither trait nor state social anxiety, nor their interaction had the expected detrimental effect on narrative coherence. However, trait differences in the proposed mechanisms of social anxiety were in line with the literature. Results showed that trait social anxiety and thematic narrative coherence were indirectly negatively related, via the intervening effects of an increased internal focus on anxiety cues, an excessive external focus on negative social evaluation, larger working memory load, more rumination and more depressive symptoms. Limitations and recommendations for future research are addressed.

Keep Calm and Carry On: The Relations Between Narrative Coherence, Trauma, Social Support, Psychological Well-Being, and Cortisol Responses.

In order to explain trauma resilience, previous research has been investigating possible risk and protective factors, both on an individual and a contextual level. In this experimental study, we examined narrative coherence and social support in relation to trauma resilience. Participants were asked to write about a turning point memory, after which they did the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, our lab analog of a traumatic event. Following, half of the participants received social support, whereas the other half did not. Afterwards, all participants wrote a narrative on the traumatic event. Moment-to-moment fluctuations in psychological and physiological well-being throughout the experiment were investigated with state anxiety questionnaires and cortisol measures. Results showed that narratives of traumatic experiences were less coherent than narratives of turning point memories. However, contrary to our predictions, coherence, and, in particular, thematic coherence, related positively to anxiety levels. Possibly, particular types of thematic coherence are a non-adaptive form of coping, which reflect unfinished attempts at meaning-making and are more similar to continuous rumination than to arriving at a resolution. Furthermore, coherence at baseline could not buffer against the impact of trauma on anxiety levels in this study. Contrary to our hypotheses, social support did not have the intended beneficial effects on coherence, neither on well-being. Multiple explanations as to why our support manipulation remained ineffective are suggested. Remarkably, lower cortisol levels at baseline and after writing about the turning point memory predicted higher coherence in the trauma narratives. This may suggest that the ability to remain calm in difficult situations does relate to the ability to cope adaptively with future difficult experiences. Clinical and social implications of the present findings are discussed, and future research recommendations on the relations between narrative coherence, social support, and trauma resilience are addressed.

Reasons to remember: A functionalist view on the relation between memory and psychopathology.

Memory is under investigation as one of the core mechanisms of psychopathology. The traditional cognitive view of memory as a stable structure with a range of set characteristics can be complemented with a perspective that considers remembering as a behaviour that varies fluidly across contexts. Remembering may serve adaptation to the environment by fulfilling a directive function, a self-function and a social function. A failure to fulfil these functions may be a risk factor for psychopathology. Implications of the discussed functionalist perspective include the importance of reinforcing adaptive ways of remembering during early development, the possibility of treating maladaptive ways of remembering through contextual interventions and the added ecological validity of using ambulatory assessment methods.

Validation of the Impact of Event Scale With Modifications for COVID-19 (IES-COVID19).

Viral outbreaks can be experienced as disruptive and can be associated with trauma-related stress symptoms. In the current study, we adjusted the Dutch version of the Impact of Event Scale (IES) to assess traumatic stress symptoms related to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The psychometric properties of this Impact of Event Scale with modifications for COVID-19 (IES-COVID19) were investigated by administering the IES-COVID19 to 380 university students who participated during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, upon invitation via e-mail. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the factor structure of the IES-COVID19 was found to be similar to the original IES, indicating two latent factors: intrusion and avoidance, χ2 (85) = 147.51, CFI = .92, TLI = .90, RMSEA = .044, SRMR = .049. Cronbach's alpha showed acceptable internal consistency of the total IES-COVID19, α = .75. Pearson's correlations of the IES-COVID19 over time were also sufficient, demonstrating adequate test-retest reliability, r = .62. Significant correlations (ranging between .15 and .50) between the IES-COVID19 and symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, stress-related rumination, as well as negative social interactions, demonstrate adequate convergent validity. Overall, the IES-COVID19 shows to be a valid and reliable measure that can be utilized to investigate trauma-related stress symptoms of intrusion and avoidance related to the short- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

An Investigation of the Coherence of Oral Narratives: Associations With Mental Health, Social Support and the Coherence of Written Narratives.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: In a first research question, we examined whether the relations that are generally observed between the coherence of written autobiographical narratives and outcomes of mental health and social support, can be replicated for the coherence of oral narratives. Second, we studied whether the coherence of oral narratives is related to the coherence of written narratives. METHODS: Pearson correlations and t-tests were calculated on data of two separate studies to examine the research questions. RESULTS: First, only thematic coherence of oral narratives was significantly, although moderately, negatively associated to symptoms of depression, anxiety and negative social interactions. Second, the coherence of oral narratives was higher than the coherence of written narratives. Only the thematic coherence of oral narratives was positively associated with thematic and total coherence of written narratives. Furthermore, correlations between written and oral narratives were stronger for negative narratives as compared to positive narratives. DISCUSSION: The ability to elaborate emotionally and make meaning out of important life events in oral narratives is, to a certain extent, related to better mental health and more social support. Furthermore, thematic coherence may be a relatively stable feature of individuals' narrative styles that is reflected in narratives of different modalities. Nonetheless, these topics need to be further researched to overcome present limitations.

I like you better when you are coherent. Narrating autobiographical memories in a coherent manner has a positive impact on listeners' social evaluations.

INTRODUCTION: We all have stories to tell. The stories that prevail in our conversations frequently concern significant past personal experiences and are accordingly based on autobiographical memory retrieval and sharing. This is in line with the social function of autobiographical memory, which embodies the idea that we share memories with others to develop and maintain social relationships. However, the successful fulfilment of this social function is dependent on phenomenological properties of the memory, which are highly inter-individually different. One important individual difference is memory coherence, operationalized as narrative coherence. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of memory coherence on the social evaluations of listeners. We hypothesized that being incoherent in the sharing of autobiographical memories, would evoke more negative social evaluations from listeners, in comparison to coherently sharing autobiographical memories. METHODS: In a within-subject experimental study, 96 participants listened to four pre-recorded audio clips in which the speaker narrated about an autobiographical experience, in either a coherent or an incoherent manner. RESULTS: Results were in line with our hypotheses. Participants showed more willingness to interact, more instrumental support, more positive feelings, more empathy and more trust towards those narrators who talked in a coherent manner about their autobiographical memories, as compared to those that talked in an incoherent manner. Negative feelings in the listener were evoked when the speaker talked incoherently, but especially when it concerned a positive memory. DISCUSSION: Results can be explained in terms of a reduction in the attraction effect when effortful processing is increased, which is in line with the dual processing theory of impression formation. Another explanation involves the idea that coherence is necessary to establish truthfulness in communication. The clinical relevance of these findings is further illustrated in light of the relation between social support and psychological well-being.

Interfering with emotional processing resources upon associative threat memory reactivation does not affect memory retention.

Ample evidence suggests that memories enter a labile state upon retrieval, requiring reconsolidation processes in order to be retained. During this period of instability, various interventions can be applied to modify problematic memories. A novel behavioral intervention was designed, aimed at disrupting amygdala-based cognitive processing following the retrieval of a conditioned threat memory, in order to prevent its reconsolidation. We fear-conditioned participants on day 1, and reactivated their memory on day 2. Following reactivation, the reactivation plus emotional working memory task (R + EWMT) group completed an EWMT, while the reactivation only (RO) group served as a no-task control. On day 3, all participants were tested for memory retention, followed by a test for sensitivity to reinstatement. We observed successful acquisition and reactivation in fear-potentiated startle responding, skin conductance responding and US expectancies in both groups. Differential fear responding was fully preserved in the R + EWMT group relative to the RO group at the beginning of retention testing, and both groups were comparably sensitive to reinstatement. Thus, we failed to obtain any evidence that the execution of an EWMT after threat memory reactivation impairs reconsolidation. Further research is indicated to clarify whether threat memory reconsolidation can be disrupted by taxing relevant WM resources.