Memories of who we are: A preliminary identification of autobiographical memory functions in recall of authentic and inauthentic events
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Sutton, Anna
Render, Jason
Abstract / Description
The story of who we are is central to our sense of authenticity and this story is constructed from our autobiographical memories. Yet we know surprisingly little about the functions that autobiographical memories of being authentic serve. This study provides a preliminary examination of the self, social and directive functions used in autobiographical memories of being authentic and inauthentic. Participants recalled times they felt they had been authentic or inauthentic at work. Analyses revealed that the self and directive functions were significantly more prevalent than the social function. In addition, authentic memories were most strongly associated with the self function while inauthentic memories were more likely to be used for the directive function. This may indicate that recall of an authentic experience serves to support one’s current self-identity, while recall of an inauthentic experience provides an opportunity to direct future behaviour towards a more authentic response. This study provides some of the first evidence for how autobiographical memories of being authentic or inauthentic may function in developing a coherent story of self that is needed for a sense of authenticity.
Keyword(s)
authenticity autobiographical memory function self directivePersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2021-09-23
Journal title
Social Psychological Bulletin
Volume
16
Issue
3
Article number
Article e6553
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Sutton, A., & Render, J. (2021). Memories of who we are: A preliminary identification of autobiographical memory functions in recall of authentic and inauthentic events. Social Psychological Bulletin, 16(3), Article e6553. https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.6553
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Sutton, Anna
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Render, Jason
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2022-04-14T11:27:53Z
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Made available on2022-04-14T11:27:53Z
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Date of first publication2021-09-23
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Abstract / DescriptionThe story of who we are is central to our sense of authenticity and this story is constructed from our autobiographical memories. Yet we know surprisingly little about the functions that autobiographical memories of being authentic serve. This study provides a preliminary examination of the self, social and directive functions used in autobiographical memories of being authentic and inauthentic. Participants recalled times they felt they had been authentic or inauthentic at work. Analyses revealed that the self and directive functions were significantly more prevalent than the social function. In addition, authentic memories were most strongly associated with the self function while inauthentic memories were more likely to be used for the directive function. This may indicate that recall of an authentic experience serves to support one’s current self-identity, while recall of an inauthentic experience provides an opportunity to direct future behaviour towards a more authentic response. This study provides some of the first evidence for how autobiographical memories of being authentic or inauthentic may function in developing a coherent story of self that is needed for a sense of authenticity.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationSutton, A., & Render, J. (2021). Memories of who we are: A preliminary identification of autobiographical memory functions in recall of authentic and inauthentic events. Social Psychological Bulletin, 16(3), Article e6553. https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.6553en_US
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ISSN2569-653X
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/5874
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6478
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.32872/spb.6553
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5099
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Keyword(s)authenticityen_US
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Keyword(s)autobiographical memoryen_US
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Keyword(s)functionen_US
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Keyword(s)selfen_US
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Keyword(s)directiveen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleMemories of who we are: A preliminary identification of autobiographical memory functions in recall of authentic and inauthentic eventsen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Article numberArticle e6553
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Issue3
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Journal titleSocial Psychological Bulletin
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Volume16
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Visible tag(s)Version of Recorden_US