| Numerous lines of research have identified that individuals are motivated to remember past events in a way that supports a positive sense of self. Memories of negative events challenge a person's positive sense of self by suggesting that stable, positive traits that a person considers a part of his or her sense of self may not accurately describe that person. Five possible contributors to the degree to which people find an autobiographical memory challenging to the positive sense of self were identified: when the event occurred, the perspective with which the event is remembered, the person's age, the person's gender, and how meaningful the memory was. Participants were asked to identify a positive trait that describes them, and then to write a narrative of an event in which they did not act according to the selected trait. Each participant reported one event, either from the past year or from more than two years ago, and either from the first- or third-person perspective. After reporting the memory, participants completed a brief questionnaire, and responded to three ethical dilemmas (two hypothetical, one actual) that were used to measure participants' tendency to engage in self-enhancement behavior after reporting the memories. Results found significant differences between emerging adults (age 18-29) and older adults (age 30 and above), and between men and women in the older adult group on numerous measures. Additionally, reported meaning and narrative indicators, such as emotion word use and reported harm to others, predicted performance on self-enhancement measures in both age groups. Time and perspective effects were more equivocal, but these two variables influenced responses, especially through interactions with participant variables (time and gender). Results suggest that threats to a positive sense of self can be alleviated by self-enhancement behavior in unrelated domains. Furthermore, results encourage the practice of analyzing memory narrative content to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of recalling significant events. Finally, results support the practice of considering adult development, both regarding changes in the sense of self and regarding influences of gender at different ages as a variable that shapes the content of autobiographical memories. |
