title: The role of need satisfaction as a distinct and basic psychological component of autobiographical memories: a look at well-being.
abstract: The purpose of the present research was to show that satisfaction of the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness constitutes a basic component characterizing autobiographical memories. In Study 1, a coding scheme and a self-rating method for measuring need satisfaction in memories were developed and shown to be highly related to each other. Across 3 studies using graduate and undergraduate students (Study 1: N=244; Study 2: N=309; Study 3: N=159), need satisfaction was found to be moderately associated with well-being measures, over and above several other memory components usually assessed in research on autobiographical memories. In addition, this association between need satisfaction in autobiographical memories and well-being held, even after controlling for person-level measures, such as personality traits, self-determined orientation, or experience of need satisfaction in general in one's life, thus suggesting that autobiographical memory and semantic self-knowledge are distinct databases.
authors.affiliation: McGill University. philippe.frederick@ugam.ca
authors.forename: Frederick L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Philippe
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koestner
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Beaulieu-Pelletier
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecours
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D016743:Mental Competency; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult