title: Individual differences and correlates of highly superior autobiographical memory.
abstract: Highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) is a recently identified ability that has been difficult to explain with existing memory science. The present study measured HSAM participants' and age/gender-matched controls' on a number of behavioural measures to test three main hypotheses: imaginative absorption, emotional arousal, and sleep. HSAM participants were significantly higher than controls on the dispositions absorption and fantasy proneness. These two dispositions also were associated with a measure of HSAM ability within the hyperthymesia participants. The emotional-arousal hypothesis yielded only weak support. The sleep hypothesis was not supported in terms of quantity, but sleep quality may be a small factor worthy of further research. Other individual differences are also documented using a predominantly exploratory analysis. Speculative pathways describing how the tendencies to absorb and fantasise could lead to enhanced autobiographical memory are discussed.
authors: a Department of Psychology , University of Southern Mississippi , Hattiesburg , MS , USA.|b Department of Psychology and Social Behavior , University of California , Irvine, Irvine , CA , USA.
authors: Lawrence
authors: L
authors: Patihis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D004644:Emotions; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012890:Sleep; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Absorption; Autobiographical memory; Emotional arousal; Fantasy proneness; HSAM; Hyperthymesia; Sleep