• DOI:10.1080/09658210802010463
• Corpus ID: 7123671

Remembering pride and shame: Self-enhancement and the phenomenology of autobiographical memory

@article{DArgembeau2008RememberingPA,
  title={Remembering pride and shame: Self-enhancement and the phenomenology of autobiographical memory},
  author={Arnaud D'Argembeau and Martial Van der Linden},
  journal={Memory},
  year={2008},
  volume={16},
  pages={538 - 547}
}

• A. D'Argembeau, M. Van der Linden
• Published 28 May 2008
• Psychology
• Memory

People's self-images are grounded in autobiographical memories and, in particular, in the phenomenological experience associated with remembering. The desire to increase or maintain the positivity of the self-image (i.e., the self-enhancement motive) might thus play an important role in shaping memory phenomenology. This study examined this hypothesis by asking participants to recall positive and negative events that involve self-evaluations (i.e., pride and shame) and positive and negative events that involve evaluations about others (i.e., admiration and contempt); various phenomenological characteristics (e.g., sensory details, feeling of re-experiencing) were assessed using rating scales. The results show a positivity bias (i.e., subjectively remembering positive events with more details than negative events) for events that involve self-evaluations but not for events that involve evaluations of others. In addition, this bias was stronger for people high in self-esteem. It is concluded that biases affecting the phenomenology of autobiographical memory are part of the arsenal of psychological mechanisms people use to maintain a positive self-image.