Abstract processing of a positive memory is associated with recalling positive memories from an observer perspective.

ruminative processing and recalling memories from an observer perspective represent two cognitive processes with adverse consequences in depression. However, no study to date has investigated the interrelationship of abstract processing, observer perspective and depression symptoms in the context of recalling personal emotional (positive, negative) memories, nor imagining emotional future events. An unselected online sample (N = 342) of participants was randomly allocated to one of four conditions: to recall a memory of a positive or negative event, or to imagine a future positive or negative event. Participants rated the vantage perspective from which they recalled or imagined the event, and the extent to which they engaged in abstract processing about it. For positive memories, a positive correlation emerged between abstract processing of the memory and observer recall; this relationship remained significant when depression symptoms were controlled. Abstract processing and vantage perspective were unrelated in the remaining three conditions. Whilst our findings await replication with a clinical sample to confirm generalisability to depressed individuals, they underscore the importance of investigating cognitive processes that influence positive memory recall and provide preliminary evidence that abstract processing of a positive memory is related to recalling the memory from an observer perspective.

Vantage perspective in analogue trauma memories: an experimental study.

Vantage perspective during recall is thought to affect the emotionality and accessibility of distressing memories. This study aimed to test the effects of vantage perspective during recall on memory associated distress and intrusion development. An adapted version of the trauma film paradigm was used in an experimental design with three conditions. Participants were asked to listen to eyewitness reports of car accidents (e.g. Trauma Analogue Induction) and imagine the scenes vividly using mental imagery. Afterwards, they were asked to recall the most distressing scene from field perspective, observer perspective, or to recall a neutral image from observer perspective (control condition) (e.g. Trauma Analogue Recall). Recall from field perspective resulted in higher negative mood, state-anxiety, and a higher number of short-term intrusions compared to the observer perspective condition and control condition. Negative mood and state-anxiety were mediators in the relationship between vantage perspective and intrusions. In comparison to observer perspective, field perspective increased the amount of short-term intrusions as a result of higher levels of negative mood and state-anxiety after memory retrieval. Future research on the interaction between vantage perspective at recall and negative mood and anxiety effects is warranted.

Vantage perspective during encoding: The effects on phenomenological memory characteristics.

The vantage perspective from which a memory is retrieved influences the memory's emotional impact, intrusiveness, and phenomenological characteristics. This study tested whether similar effects are observed when participants were instructed to imagine the events from a specific perspective. Fifty student participants listened to a verbal report of car-accidents and visualized the scenery from either a field or observer perspective. There were no between-condition differences in emotionality of memories and the number of intrusions, but imagery experienced from a relative observer perspective was rated as less self-relevant. In contrast to earlier studies on memory retrieval, vantage perspective influenced phenomenological memory characteristics of the memory representation such as sensory details, and ratings of vividness and distancing of the memory. However, vantage perspective is most likely not a stable phenomenological characteristic itself. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The Impact of Perspective Change As a Cognitive Reappraisal Strategy on Affect: A Systematic Review.

The strategic or deliberate adoption of a cognitively distanced, third-person perspective is proposed to adaptively regulate emotions. However, studies of psychological disorders suggest spontaneous adoption of a third-person perspective reflects counter-productive avoidance. Here, we review studies that investigate the deliberate adoption of a third- or first-person vantage perspective and its impact on affect in healthy people, "sub-clinical" populations and those with psychological disorders. A systematic search was conducted across four databases. After exclusion criteria were applied, 38 studies were identified that investigated the impact of both imagery and verbal instructions designed to encourage adoption of a third-person perspective on self-reported affect. The identified studies examined a variety of outcomes related to recalling memories, imagining scenarios and mood induction. These were associated with specific negative emotions or mood states (dysphoria/sadness, anxiety, anger), mixed or neutral affect autobiographical memories, and self-conscious affect (e.g., guilt). Engaging a third-person perspective was generally associated with a reduction in the intensity of positive and negative affect. Studies that included measures of semantic change, suggested that this is a key mediator in reduction of affect following perspective change. Strategically adopting a "distanced," third-person perspective is linked to a reduction in affect intensity across valence, but in addition has the potential to introduce new information that regulates emotion via semantic change. Such reappraisal distinguishes deliberate adoption of a distanced perspective from the habitual and/or spontaneous shift in perspective that occurs in psychopathology.

The relation between self-reported PTSD and depression symptoms and the psychological distance of positive and negative events.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Psychological distance refers to how far and how long ago an event feels to a person and how distant this person feels from their past self who experienced the event. Psychological distance is related to the recollective experience of the memory, but people with PTSD and depression remember positive and negative events differently. Whereas people with depression tend to have over-general memory, people with PTSD often relive traumatic experiences (i.e., intrusive memories). These findings suggest that people with PTSD might feel close to negative events and that people with depression might feel distant from positive events. METHOD: In the present study, students (N = 103) reported their PTSD and depression symptoms and the psychological distance of highly positive and highly negative events. RESULTS: In line with previous work, participants generally felt close to positive experiences and distant from negative experiences. However, this study is the first one to show that participants with more depression symptoms feel psychologically distant from positive events and participants with more PTSD symptoms feel psychologically close to negative events. LIMITATIONS: Although we did not establish whether the negative event was traumatic and whether the participants with many PTSD and depression symptoms suffered from these disorders, these limitations can be addressed in future research. CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasize the important role of identifying with positive events in depression and they support the idea that PTSD is caused by the fact that the traumatic event has become central to a person's life story.

The relationship between borderline symptoms and vantage perspective during autobiographical memory retrieval in a community sample.

BACKGROUND: Recent findings show that (previously) depressed and traumatised patients, compared to controls, make more frequently use of an observer perspective (as set against a field perspective) when retrieving memories. Because patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often report mood disturbances and past traumatic experiences, it would be plausible to expect that these patients too would retrieve higher proportions of observer memories. Therefore, and given the phenotypical variance of BPD, we examined whether vantage perspective during recall is associated with one or more BPD symptom clusters. METHODS: A community sample consisting of 148 volunteers (66 males) completed the Autobiographical Memory Test, the Borderline Syndrome Index, and the Depression Scale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. RESULTS: Interpersonal and anxious-neurotic BPD features were associated with higher proportions of observer memories. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of observer memories was not associated with the total number of BPD symptoms. Nevertheless, our data suggest the existence of substantial connections between perspective taking during recall on the one hand and interpersonal difficulties and anxious-neurotic symptoms on the other hand, especially following cues that tap into domains that are highly discrepant towards one's actual self-concept.