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| Project Details |
| Funding Scheme : | General Research Fund | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Number : | 14611420 | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Title(English) : | The effects of construal level and psychological distance at retrieval on reducing perceived emotional intensity of negative autobiographical memory and boosting psychological well-being in young adults | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Title(Chinese) : | 記憶檢索時的解釋水平和心理距離對降低消極自傳體記憶的情緒強度和提升心理幸福感的效應研究 | ||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investigator(English) : | Prof Tse, Chi-Shing | ||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investigator(Chinese) : | |||||||||||||||||
| Department : | Educational Psychology | ||||||||||||||||
| Institution : | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||
| E-mail Address : | cstse@cuhk.edu.hk | ||||||||||||||||
| Tel : | |||||||||||||||||
| Co - Investigator(s) : |
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| Panel : | Humanities, Social Sciences | ||||||||||||||||
| Subject Area : | Psychology and Linguistics | ||||||||||||||||
| Exercise Year : | 2020 / 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Fund Approved : | 606,320 | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Status : | Completed | ||||||||||||||||
| Completion Date : | 30-6-2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Project Objectives : |
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| Abstract as per original application (English/Chinese): |
目的 我們計劃研究年輕人在記憶檢索時，其心理距離和解釋水平對降低消極自傳體記憶的情緒強度和提升心理幸福感的影響效應。 項目背景 解釋水平理論（Trope & Liberman, 2010）認為，解釋水平和心理距離是相互關聯的：人們傾向於用更高、更抽象的解釋水平來表征心理距離較遠的事件，而用更低、更具體的解釋水平來表徵心理距離較近的事件。 這一觀點最近受到了挑戰（例如Gu & Tse, 2018）。 本研究項目將讓參與者回憶一件消極的自傳體事件，並同時操作回憶事件時的解釋水平和該事件的心理距離，從而檢驗解釋水平和心理距離的聯合效應。 結果變量是參與者感知到的事件的情緒強度和心理幸福感。以往研究發現，事件的情緒強度隨著心理距離的增大而降低（例如Van Boven et al., 2010）。 項目設計 在實驗一中，參與者將採用第一人稱來回憶一件消極的自傳體事件，一周後，他們採用第三人稱來回憶相同的事件。 在每一次回憶任務中，他們會被要求關注事件的意義（例如對他們生活的啟示）或者關注事件的背景細節（例如事件發生在哪裡），這樣他們分別採用高解釋水平或低解釋水平來詳細說明該事件。 然後，他們將評價事件的特徵（例如情緒強度），並完成心理幸福感的測量。 在實驗二中，流程與實驗一相同，唯一的不同之處在於，實驗二操作事件的時間距離（即一件發生在去年的事或者發生在至少八年前的事），而不是操作事件的敘事視角。 在兩次實驗開始的前兩天，測量參與者的抑鬱得分、特質性解釋水平得分和幸福感得分，這些分數作為基線值和控制變量。 此外，每個實驗都增加了兩個對照組，對照組將接受高解釋水平或低解釋水平的啟動，該啟動任務與自傳體記憶的檢索無關，以此來檢驗當本實驗把解釋水平的操作嵌入到記憶檢索任務中時，所得結論是否具有普遍性。 項目意義 理論上，解釋水平和心理距離對情緒強度和心理幸福感的交互作用將表明它們對記憶檢索產生的聯合影響，該結果對解釋水平理論有重要的啟示。 實踐上，本項目將闡明表達性書寫範式和採用高解釋水平的、基於意義的自傳體記憶干預方案的效果，類似於懷舊療法（例如Westerhof & Bohlmeijer, 2014）。 |
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| Realisation of objectives: | We successfully recruited participants and collected data as outlined in our research proposal. In Experiment 1, we explored the effects of shifting narrative perspectives (as a change in psychological distance) and construal levels during the retrieval of negative autobiographical memories, and how these influenced post-recall affect and well-being. We engaged 128 college-aged participants who recalled a negative autobiographical event first from a 1st-person perspective and then from a 3rd-person perspective after several days later. During each session, participants were asked to elaborate on the event at a high construal level, reflecting on its broader life significance, or at a low construal level, focusing on specific contextual details such as time and location. Following each recall, participants assessed the mnemonic characteristics of the events, such as emotional intensity, and completed evaluations related to positive and negative affect and well-being. Additional measures including participants’ symptoms of depression, dispositional construal levels, and well-being were collected on a separate day. This comprehensive data collection allowed us to examine the main effects and interactions of construal level and psychological distance, successfully meeting all three objectives of the funded project. The results of this experiment have been written up as a manuscript and submitted for publication in the journal, Scientific Reports. Building upon the design of Experiment 1, Experiment 2 further investigated the project's objectives by manipulating psychological distance through temporal distance instead of narrative perspective. We recruited another group of 128 college-aged participants to study how the temporal distance and construal level associated with the recollection of negative autobiographical events impact post-recall emotions and psychological well-being. Participants recalled two events in separate sessions, one recent (within the past year) and one distant (at least eight years ago). As in Experiment 1, construal level was manipulated by instructing participants to reflect on either the broader significance of the event (high construal level) or to focus on specific details such as time and location (low construal level). After each retrieval, participants evaluated the mnemonic qualities of the event (e.g., emotional intensity, vividness of imagery, and ease of retrieval) and reported their positive and negative emotions and psychological well-being. Additional variables such as depression symptoms, subjective vitality, and self-esteem were also collected and used as control variables in our analyses. These also successfully met all objectives of our funded project. The findings will be presented in an academic conference on Oct 2024. | ||||||||||||||||
| Summary of objectives addressed: |
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| Research Outcome | |||||||||||||||||
| Major findings and research outcome: | In Experiment 1, we observed that participants reported higher subjective vitality and a greater pursuit of life meaning—both indicators of psychological well-being—and experienced reduced negative affect after recalling events from a higher, as opposed to a lower, construal level. In addition, participants reported a decrease in their perceived emotional intensity of events and an increased search for meaning in life when they shifted the narrative perspective from the 1st-person to the 3rd- person, thereby increasing psychological distance. However, the effect of high construal level on boosting psychological well-being was larger when recalling AM events from the 1st-person (vs. 3rd-person) perspective, contrary to the prediction of Construal Level Theory. This study was pioneering in its exploration of the separate effects of construal level and psychological distance, indirectly manipulated through narrative perspective, on the retrieval of autobiographical memories. In Experiment 2, we found that events recalled from a longer temporal distance (eight years or more) elicited less intense negative emotions post-recall compared to events from the previous year. This effect conceptually replicated the influence of psychological distance observed in Experiment 1, though here it was defined as temporal distance rather than narrative perspective. Interestingly, retrieving memories at a high construal level (focusing on life significance) was linked to lower psychological well-being compared to low construal level retrieval (focusing on details). Unlike Experiment 1, no interaction was found between construal level and psychological distance (as manipulated via temporal distance) on perceived emotional intensity or psychological well-being measures. These results underscore the distinct impacts of construal level and temporal distance on the process of autobiographical memory retrieval. Overall, the outcomes of these two experiments offer insights into Construal Level Theory, particularly noting that the lack of interaction between psychological distance and construal level may challenge the theory’s premise of a conceptual link between these variables. The findings also highlight the potential benefits of manipulating construal level and psychological distance to enhance psychological well-being in young adults, shedding light on the development of expressive writing paradigms as emotional intervention strategies within clinical or counseling settings. | ||||||||||||||||
| Potential for further development of the research and the proposed course of action: |
Given the findings regarding the role of psychological distance in moderating the effectiveness of memory retrieval strategies for negative autobiographical events—specifically in reducing perceived negative emotional intensity and enhancing psychological well-being—we intend to pursue further research. Our next step is to explore whether the benefits of increased psychological distance, achieved through switching to a third-person narrative perspective or recalling events from a more extended temporal distance, can also apply to the retrieval of positive autobiographical events. We aim to investigate whether recalling positive events can similarly intensify perceived positive emotions and further enhance psychological well-being. The contrasting effects of construal level manipulation observed across the two experiments present an intriguing dilemma. To address this, we plan to conduct a detailed examination of the event contents from both experiments and conduct content analyses to identify the factors related to the autobiographical events that might moderate the effect of high construal-level manipulation on psychological well-being in the two experiments. Should these additional analyses yield clear results, they may be developed into a separate manuscript for publication. This investigation will potentially clarify these conflicting findings and contribute further to our understanding of memory’s role in emotional regulation. | ||||||||||||||||
| Layman's Summary of Completion Report: | In our study, we explore how changing the way we think about and recall personal memories can affect our emotional reactions and improve mental health in young adults. Specifically, we considered the level of details used when recalling memories and the perspective from which these memories are recalled. When remembering negative events, we can focus on their broader significance in our lives or on their specific details like where it occurred. We can recall the events from our own point of view (first-person perspective) or as if we were an observer (third-person perspective). We also considered whether event timing (recent versus several years ago) affects how we feel about it now. Our findings suggest that recalling negative events from a third-person perspective or as events that happened a long time ago make them feel less emotionally intense and enhance overall well-being. Sometimes, thinking about what these events mean in our lives can be more beneficial than focusing on the specific details. These insights lay the groundwork for further studies into how expressive writing and memory recall techniques can be used as tools to help young adults manage their emotions and improve their mental health. | ||||||||||||||||
| Research Output | |||||||||||||||||
| Peer-reviewed journal publication(s) arising directly from this research project : (* denotes the corresponding author) |
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| Recognized international conference(s) in which paper(s) related to this research project was/were delivered : |
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| Other impact (e.g. award of patents or prizes, collaboration with other research institutions, technology transfer, etc.): |
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| SCREEN ID: SCRRM00542 |