Autobiographical memories (AMs) are personal memories of specific events from one’s life.
Depression is associated with impaired ability to access detailed positive AMs, hindering their use for emotion regulation.
Deliberately recalling positive AMs may help individuals remitted from depression counteract sad mood in daily life, potentially preventing relapse.
Haag, C., So, M., Vainre, M., Kleim, B., Dalgleish, T., & Hitchcock, C. (2024). Positive autobiographical memories to counteract low mood in remitted depression: A longitudinal daily-life investigation. Emotion, 24(7), 1709–1720. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001330
Key Points
- The primary methods of this study involved randomly assigning individuals remitted from depression to either positive or everyday activity autobiographical memory (AM) recollection, guided by smartphones, over a 3-week period to assess effects on momentary mood.
- Factors like the emotional valence of the memory (positive vs. everyday), the intentionality of recollection (spontaneous vs. cued), and the emotional impact of initial AM recollection significantly affect the frequency and effectiveness of using this technique to regulate transient sad mood in daily life.
- This research has certain limitations such as a short timeframe that precluded evaluating relapse prevention effects, a highly educated and predominantly female sample that limits generalizability, potential influences of COVID-19 pandemic stress on results, and a reliance on self-report measures of memory characteristics.
- Investigating accessible, low-intensity techniques to counteract everyday sad mood and prevent depressive relapse is universally relevant, as depression is a prevalent and often recurrent disorder. Positive AM recollection holds promise as a tool to enhance the ability to savor positive memories and regulate negative affect in daily life, which could promote long-term emotional health and resilience.
Rationale
Recollecting positive autobiographical memories (AMs) can induce positive emotions and enhance well-being (Miguel-Alvaro et al., 2021).
However, individuals with a history of depression have difficulty accessing positive AMs in detail and leveraging them for emotion regulation (Dalgleish & Werner-Seidler, 2014; Werner-Seidler et al., 2017).
This study investigated whether guided, deliberate recollection of preselected positive AMs using smartphones could help individuals remitted from depression counteract low mood in daily life.
Method
Procedure
- 3-week assessment period: 1-week training, 2-week follow-up
- Baseline session: Participants selected 6 memories, received instructions, completed questionnaires
- Training week: Twice daily guided smartphone AM recollection, spontaneous use encouraged
- Final 2 weeks: Spontaneous AM recollection when experiencing low mood
Sample
- 60 individuals (75% female) remitted from major depressive disorder
- Mean age 43.73 years, mostly White British and well-educated
Measures
- Emotional experience pre and post AM recollection (happiness, sadness): Visual analog scales to assess momentary emotional state
- End of day affect: Adapted short form Positive and Negative Affect Schedule to retrospectively assess average daily mood
- End of day spontaneous AM recollection: Frequency and intentionality of AMs coming to mind outside of cued recollection
- Beck Depression Inventory-II: 21-item self-report measure of depressive symptoms over the past 2 weeks
- Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale: 7-item self-report measure of positive mental health
- AM ratings at follow-up: Self-report ratings of memory valence, vividness, self-concordance, and evoked happiness/satisfaction
Statistical Analysis
- Linear mixed models for change in happiness and sadness
- Poisson regression for spontaneous AM use in follow-up
- Multivariate linear regression for generalization to untrained AMs
- Linear mixed effects models for change in depressive symptoms and well-being
Results
- Positive AM group had greater happiness increases and sadness decreases vs. everyday AM group during training
- Positive AM group used technique more in follow-up, moderated by sadness reduction in training
- No group differences in untrained AM ratings, depressive symptoms or well-being trajectories
Insight
This study innovatively demonstrates the real-time emotional benefits of guided positive AM recollection in daily life for remitted individuals, extending prior lab-based research.
Perceived helpfulness, reflected in spontaneous continued use, supports the accessibility and acceptability of this smartphone-based technique.
Lack of generalization to untrained AMs and well-being suggests effects may be specific to cued recollection rather than shifting overall memory biases or mental health status.
Investigating impact on relapse vulnerability is a key next step.
Implications
With further development and optimization, concise smartphone-cued positive AM recollection could provide an accessible, low-intensity tool to aid mood regulation and potentially relapse prevention in depression.
Explicitly reflecting on initial benefits may enhance uptake. Evaluating objective physiological and behavioral indices of positive AM characteristics could strengthen future research.
Strengths
This study had several methodological strengths, including:
- Ecological valid assessment of positive AM recollection in daily life using smartphones
- Random allocation to conditions with active control
- Multi-phase design to assess training and spontaneous use
- Remitted sample to target relapse vulnerability factors
Limitations
This study also had several methodological limitations, including:
- Short timeframe precluded evaluating relapse prevention effects
- Highly educated, predominantly White British female sample limits generalizability
- Potential influences of COVID-19 pandemic stress on results
- Reliance on self-report measures of memory characteristics
References
Primary reference
Haag, C., So, M., Vainre, M., Kleim, B., Dalgleish, T., & Hitchcock, C. (2024). Positive autobiographical memories to counteract low mood in remitted depression: A longitudinal daily-life investigation. Emotion, 24(7), 1709–1720. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001330
Other references
Dalgleish, T., & Werner-Seidler, A. (2014). Disruptions in autobiographical memory processing in depression and the emergence of memory therapeutics. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(11), 596–604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.06.010
Miguel-Alvaro, A., Guillén, A. I., Contractor, A. A., & Crespo, M. (2021). Positive memory intervention techniques: A scoping review. Memory, 29(6), 793–810. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1937655
Werner-Seidler, A., Tan, L., & Dalgleish, T. (2017). The vicissitudes of positive autobiographical recollection as an emotion regulation strategy in depression. Clinical Psychological Science, 5(1), 26–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702616647922
Socratic Questions
- How might the mechanisms through which positive AM recollection improves mood in the short-term relate to longer-term relapse prevention?
- What factors influence an individual’s tendency to spontaneously use positive AM recollection to regulate mood and how could these be optimized?
- How could the positive AM recollection intervention be personalized to maximize benefits for different individuals?
- What complementary psychological or physiological measures could help paint a richer picture of the AM recollection experience and its emotional impact?
