Examining the mechanisms of overgeneral autobiographical memory: Capture and rumination, and impaired executive control

• Published in: Memory (Hove) 2011-02, Vol.19 (2), p.169-183
• Main Authors: Sumner, Jennifer A., Griffith, James W., Mineka, Susan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Autobiographical memory specificity; Biological and medical sciences; CaR-FA-X model; Depression - physiopathology; Depression - psychology; Executive control; Executive Function; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generalization (Psychology); Human; Humans; Learning. Memory; Linear Models; Male; Memory; Mental Recall; Overgeneral autobiographical memory; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rumination; Self Concept; Stroop Test; Word Association Tests; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0965-8211; 1464-0686
• DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2010.541467

Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) is an important cognitive phenomenon in depression, but questions remain regarding the underlying mechanisms. The CaR-FA-X model (Williams et al., 2007) proposes three mechanisms that may contribute to OGM, but little work has examined the possible additive and/or interactive effects among them. We examined two mechanisms of CaR-FA-X: capture and rumination, and impaired executive control. We analysed data from undergraduates (N=109) scoring high or low on rumination who were presented with cues of high and low self-relevance on the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). Executive control was operationalised as performance on both the Stroop Colour-Word Task and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT). Hierarchical generalised linear modelling was used to predict whether participants would generate a specific memory on a trial of the AMT. Higher COWAT scores, lower rumination, and greater cue self-relevance predicted a higher probability of a specific memory. There was also a rumination×cue self-relevance interaction: Higher (vs lower) rumination was associated with a lower probability of a specific memory primarily for low self-relevant cues. We found no evidence of interactions between these mechanisms. Findings are interpreted with respect to current autobiographical memory models. Future directions for OGM mechanism research are discussed.