Grieving Parents' Meaning-Making Narration in Relation to Value Orientations: A Cross-Cultural Study

This study investigated the association between prolonged grief (PG) severity and meaning-making narration in a cross-cultural context, and specifically aimed to illustrate the role of value orientation in shaping the grieving process. 30 Chinese and 22 Swiss parents who lost their child were asked to narrate and appraise specific memories to reflect their self-evaluation of traditional and modern values. The self-reported Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (ref ICD-11) assessed PG severity. Compared with the Swiss sample, the Chinese sample provided more elaborated memories, which was not associated with symptom severity. Both Chinese and Swiss bereaved parents with more severe PG provided more narratives of loss-related memories, particularly in response to modern values. They also provided more appraisals of negative meanings for self-defining memories, particularly in relation to their traditional values. These findings indicate that, despite cultural differences in narration tendency, PG severity in bereaved parents was associated with the maladaptive integration of autobiographical memories across different cultures, in relation to value orientations. A clinical implication is the potential value of facilitating narrations of grieving clients that center on value orientations to mitigate the hardship of the personal loss.

Mnemicity: A Cognitive Gadget?

Episodic representations can be entertained either as "remembered" or "imagined"-as outcomes of experience or as simulations of such experience. Here, we argue that this feature is the product of a dedicated cognitive function: the metacognitive capacity to determine the mnemicity of mental event simulations. We argue that mnemicity attribution should be distinguished from other metacognitive operations (such as reality monitoring) and propose that this attribution is a "cognitive gadget"-a distinctively human ability made possible by cultural learning. Cultural learning is a type of social learning in which traits are inherited through social interaction. In the case of mnemicity, one culturally learns to discriminate metacognitive "feelings of remembering" from other perceptual, emotional, action-related, and metacognitive feelings; to interpret feelings of remembering as indicators of memory rather than imagination; and to broadcast the interpreted feelings in culture- and context-specific ways, such as "I was there" or "I witnessed it myself." We review evidence from the literature on memory development and scaffolding, metacognitive learning and teaching, as well as cross-cultural psychology in support of this view before pointing out various open questions about the nature and development of mnemicity highlighted by our account.

Self-defining memories and past academic stress in Chinese and American college students: a replication and extension of Wang and Singer (2021)

The current study replicated Wang and Singer's ([2021]. A cross-cultural study of self-defining memories in Chinese and American college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.622527) finding that Chinese college students from the People's Republic of China (PRC) recalled more self-defining memories (SDMs) focused on high school academic stress than their American counterparts. Seventy-eight American students from a private 4-year liberal arts college and 96 Chinese students from 13 different Chinese universities recalled two SDMs and rated them for affect, recall frequency, and importance. Once again, Chinese college students were more likely than American students to recall academic stress SDMs, but also expressed more redemptive themes in these memories. Overall, Chinese students rated their SDMs as more positive than the Americans, while the American sample tended to recall their negative memories more frequently. Contrasting the SDMs, American students self-reported higher levels of stress about their high school workload and less academic self-confidence. Regressions linked more negative affect in American SDMs to these work load and self-confidence concerns. Chinese students' SDM negative affect was most strongly predicted by perceived academic stress linked to parental and teachers' expectations. The discussion highlights the potential influence of Confucian values in the Chinese students' responses to past academic stress and their internalisation of academic stress memories in their narrative identity.

A Cross-Cultural Study of Self-Defining Memories in Chinese and American College Students

Self-defining memories (SDMs) are touchstones in individuals’ narrative identity. This is the first SDM study to compare college students from the mainland People’s Republic of China (PRC) to American college students. It examined SDMs, Big Five personality traits, and memory function in 60 students from each country (n = 120). Participants rated their memories for affect, recall frequency, and importance. Chinese students recalled their most positively rated memories more frequently and with greater importance, while American students did not show this pattern. American students who scored higher in Openness were more likely to recall negative memories. Memory content coding revealed that Chinese students recalled significantly more guilt/shame events than American students. Further analysis indicated that these memories were particularly focused on academic performance and parental expectations. The discussion suggests that follow-up studies look at differing emotion regulation strategies in the two countries, as well as at how the two different educational systems are affecting late adolescent identity formation processes.

Cross-cultural exploration of the characteristics, content and themes of intrusive autobiographical memories recalled during depression

The recall of intrusive memories is highly prevalent during depression. While past research has examined memory themes and characteristics (e.g., frequency), possible cultural differences in these variables have not been investigated. Furthermore, cross-cultural research has documented content differences in voluntary autobiographical remembering, but such content analyses have not been conducted in regard to intrusive memories. This study, therefore, investigated the characteristics, content and themes of intrusive memories using a 2 (group: European Australian, East Asian) × 2 (depression: depressed, control) cross-sectional design. European Australian (n = 46) and East Asian (n = 45) participants living in Australia reported two memories in real-time using an online memory diary and rated the characteristics of their memories. East Asian participants reported more frequent and distressing memories, compared to European Australians, while the European Australian group reported more specific memories than the East Asian group. Most of the characteristics, themes and content variables, however, did not differ between cultural groups. Additionally, depressed participants, regardless of cultural group, reported more frequent, distressing and numbing memories, compared to healthy controls. These findings suggest that while depressive symptomatology impacts the experience of intrusive memories, memory content and characteristics are largely similar across the two cultural groups.

Self-defining Memories Predict Engagement in Structured Activity in First Episode Psychosis, Independent of Neurocognition and Metacognition

BACKGROUND

Self-defining memories (SDMs) are vivid personal memories, related to narrative identity. Individuals with schizophrenia report less specific, more negative, and extract less meaning from these memories compared to control groups. SDMs have been shown to be predicted by neurocognition, associated with metacognition, and linked to goal outcomes in healthy controls. As neurocognition and metacognition are known predictors of poor functioning in psychosis, SDMs may also be a predictor. No study has assessed the relationship to functioning or pattern of SDMs in first episode psychosis (FEP).

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study involving 71 individuals with FEP and 57 healthy controls who completed an SDM questionnaire. FEP participants completed measures of neurocognition, metacognition (Metacognitive Assessment Interview), functional capacity (The University of California, San Diego [UCSD] Performance-Based Skills Assessment), and functional outcome (Time-Use Survey).

RESULTS

SDMs reported by individuals with FEP were less integrated compared to healthy controls. Within the FEP sample, holding less specific memories was associated with engagement in significantly fewer hours of structured activity per week and specificity of SDMs mediated the relationship between neurocognition and functional outcome, independent of metacognition.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to assess SDMs in FEP and to explore the important role of SDMs on clinical outcomes, compared to healthy controls. This study suggests that elaborating on specific SDMs is a valid therapeutic target and may be considered a tool to improve daily functioning in FEP.

Investigating the mediating role of self-construal on the relationship between cultural group (Malay and Australian) and the characteristics and functional use of autobiographical memory

Cultural differences in autobiographical memory characteristics and function have often been presumed to be associated with different cultural beliefs related to the self. The current research aimed to investigate whether self-construal mediated the relationship between cultural group and the characteristics and functional use of autobiographical memory. Caucasian Australians (n = 71) and Malay Malaysians (n = 50) completed an online questionnaire that included the Self-Defining Memory task, the Thinking About Life Experiences Revised Questionnaire and the Self Construal Scale. As expected, the Australian group provided longer, more autonomously oriented, specific memories than the Malay group. However, contrary to our predictions, self-construal did not mediate the relationships between cultural group and memory characteristics. The Malay group reported more frequently using autobiographical memories for self-continuity than the Australian group. Finally, there was support for an indirect pathway between cultural group and use of autobiographical memories for self-continuity and social-bonding through self-construal (i.e. independent self relative to interdependent self). The findings highlight the importance of explicitly examining values assumed to be associated with autobiographical remembering, and relating these values to memory characteristics and function.

Impact of culture on autobiographical life structure in depression

OBJECTIVES

Distortions in autobiographical memory have been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Those with MDD demonstrate a 'depressogenic' autobiographical life structure. Research has not examined how culture influences this process. We investigated whether Malay individuals (members of an interdependent culture) with MDD demonstrated a 'depressogenic' autobiographical life structure similar to that of British individuals (members of an independent culture) with MDD.

DESIGN

A 2 (Culture; Malay, British) × 2 (Mood; depressed, control) cross-sectional design using a card sort task and self-report measures was used.

METHODS

Malay individuals with MDD or no history of MDD completed the life-structure card-sorting task, which provided a novel method for investigating organizational structure of the life narrative. These data were compared to previously collected data in which British individuals with MDD or without MDD had completed the same task within the same experimental protocol.

RESULTS

Pan-culturally those with MDD had greater negativity (i.e., used more negative attributes), negative redundancy (i.e., used the same negative attributes repeatedly across life chapters) and negative emodiversity (i.e., had greater variety and relative abundance of negative attributes), and reduced positive redundancy (i.e., used the same positive attributes repeatedly across chapters) in their structuring relative to controls. While the British MDD group had greater compartmentalization (i.e., the negative and positive attributes were clustered separately across different chapters) than British controls, the Malay MDD group had lower levels of compartmentalization than Malay controls.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest culture may shape aspects of the autobiographical life structure in MDD.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

The majority of the literature investigating depression pertains to individuals from European Western cultures, despite recognition that depression ranks as one of the most debilitating diseases worldwide. This raises questions as to whether current depression models and interventions can be applied universally or whether they are limited to European Western groups. The current study found that pan-culturally those with MDD had similar structuring of their life story relative to controls. However, there were some cultural differences that need to be considered (e.g., Malay individuals provided less detailed, less elaborate and less emotionally diverse life stories and while the British MDD group had greater compartmentalization than British controls, the Malay MDD group had lower levels of compartmentalization than Malay controls). Limitations of the study included group differences in gender and mood at the time of testing. Cultural differences in the number of attributes used may have influenced findings. Only the Malay group completed the individualism-collectivism measure.

Telling the Tale and Living Well: Adolescent Narrative Identity, Personality Traits, and Well-Being Across Cultures

This study explored links between narrative identity, personality traits, and well-being for 263 adolescents (age 12-21) from three New Zealand cultures: Māori, Chinese, and European. Turning-point narratives were assessed for autobiographical reasoning (causal coherence), local thematic coherence, emotional expressivity, and topic. Across cultures, older adolescents with higher causal coherence reported better well-being. Younger adolescents with higher causal coherence instead reported poorer well-being. Personal development topics were positively linked to well-being for New Zealand European adolescents only, and thematic coherence was positively linked to well-being for Māori adolescents only. Negative expressivity, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness were also linked to well-being. Implications of these cultural similarities and differences are considered for theories of narrative identity, personality, and adolescent well-being.

Challenges and Successes in Dissemination of Evidence-Based Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress: Lessons Learned From Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) poses monumental public health challenges because of its contribution to mental health, physical health, and both interpersonal and social problems. Recent military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan and the multitude of resulting cases of PTSD have highlighted the public health significance of these conditions. There are now psychological treatments that can effectively treat most individuals with PTSD, including active duty military personnel, veterans, and civilians. We begin by reviewing the effectiveness of these treatments, with a focus on prolonged exposure (PE), a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for PTSD. Many studies conducted in independent research labs have demonstrated that PE is highly efficacious in treating PTSD across a wide range of trauma types, survivor characteristics, and cultures. Furthermore, therapists without prior CBT experience can readily learn and implement the treatment successfully. Despite the existence of highly effective treatments like PE, the majority of individuals with PTSD receive treatments of unknown efficacy. Thus, it is crucial to identify the barriers and challenges that must be addressed in order to promote the widespread dissemination of effective treatments for PTSD. In this review, we first discuss some of the major challenges, such as a professional culture that often is antagonistic to evidence-based treatments (EBTs), a lack of clinician training in EBTs, limited effectiveness of commonly used dissemination techniques, and the significant cost associated with effective dissemination models. Next, we review local, national, and international efforts to disseminate PE and similar treatments and illustrate the challenges and successes involved in promoting the adoption of EBTs in mental health systems. We then consider ways in which the barriers discussed earlier can be overcome, as well as the difficulties involved in effecting sustained organizational change in mental health systems. We also present examples of efforts to disseminate PE in developing countries and the attendant challenges when mental health systems are severely underdeveloped. Finally, we present future directions for the dissemination of EBTs for PTSD, including the use of newer technologies such as web-based therapy and telemedicine. We conclude by discussing the need for concerted action among multiple interacting systems in order to overcome existing barriers to dissemination and promote widespread access to effective treatment for PTSD. These systems include graduate training programs, government agencies, health insurers, professional organizations, healthcare delivery systems, clinical researchers, and public education systems like the media. Each of these entities can play a major role in reducing the personal suffering and public health burden associated with posttraumatic stress.

Cultural differences in the relationship between intrusions and trauma narratives using the trauma film paradigm

Two studies explored the influence of culture on the relationship between British and East Asian adults’ autobiographical remembering of trauma film material and associated intrusions. Participants were shown aversive film clips to elicit intrusive images. Then participants provided a post-film narrative of the film content (only Study 1). In both studies, participants reported intrusive images for the film in an intrusion diary during the week after viewing. On returning the diary, participants provided a narrative of the film (delayed). The trauma film narratives were scored for memory-content variables. It was found that for British participants, higher levels of autonomous orientation (i.e. expressions of autonomy and self-determination) and self-focus in the delayed narratives were correlated significantly with fewer intrusions. For the East Asian group, lower levels of autonomous orientation and greater focus on others were correlated significantly with fewer intrusions. Additionally, Study 2 found that by removing the post-film narrative task there was a significant increase in the number of intrusions relative to Study 1, suggesting that the opportunity to develop a narrative resulted in fewer intrusions. These findings suggest that the greater the integration and contextualization of the trauma memory, and the more the trauma memory reflects culturally appropriate remembering, the fewer the intrusions.

Narratives and traits in personality development among New Zealand Māori, Chinese, and European adolescents

Narrative and trait levels of personality were assessed in a sample of 268 adolescents from age 12 to 21 from New Zealand Māori, Chinese, and European cultures. Adolescents narrated three critical events and completed a Big Five personality inventory. Each narrative was coded for causal and thematic coherence. NZ Chinese adolescents reported lower levels of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, and higher levels of neuroticism, than NZ Māori or European adolescents. Cultural differences were also evident in narrative coherence. Adolescents in all three groups demonstrated age-related increases in thematic coherence, but only NZ European adolescents demonstrated the expected age-related increases in causal coherence. Narrative identity and traits were distinct aspects of personality for younger adolescents, but were linked for middle and older adolescents. These findings support the importance of both narrative identity and traits in understanding personality development in adolescents across cultures.

Why We Remember and What We Remember

We examine cultural (mainly East and West) differences in the functions and contents of autobiographical memory. We discuss how cultural differences in physical environments, self-views, the motivation to self-enhance, concerns for behavioral and emotional regulation, socialization, and language affect the contents and use of memory. Cultural influences take place at the individual level of cognitive schemata and memory strategies, as well as the interpersonal sphere of daily mnemonic practices and exchanges. Autobiographical memory is categorically cultural.

Cultural and Universal Routes to Authorship Ascription: Effects of Outcome Priming on Experienced Self-Agency in the Netherlands and Japan

The experience of self-agency is a fundamental feature of human experience. Recent research has suggested that self-agency experiences are driven by an unconscious authorship ascription process that relies on an online match between accessible outcome representations and the production of the outcome. Extending this work, this study explores the role of culture in the manifestation of this unconscious authorship ascription process by testing whether subliminal priming of the outcome of an action prior to occurrence increased experiences of self-agency in Dutch and Japanese participants. Results show that outcome priming enhances the experience of self-agency independently of cultural background. However, Dutch participants experienced higher levels of self-agency than did Japanese participants, and this cultural effect was mediated by differences in beliefs of self-determination.These findings suggest that the experience of self-agency has a universal, nonconscious component that operates independently from a more cultural one, reflecting differences in conscious beliefs about the role of the self in choice and control.