title: On the power of autobiographical memories: from threat and challenge appraisals to actual behaviour.
abstract: Autobiographical memories are a major feature of mental life in humans. However, research on the influence of autobiographical recall on actual behaviour is scarce. We predicted and found that general memories of failure and specific memories of success resulted in worse performance than general memories of success and specific memories of failure. This performance pattern was mediated by task appraisal, suggesting that autobiographical memories (of failure and success) impact performance by shaping the perception of the upcoming task. Combined with the fact that these effects occurred even when the content of autobiographical memories was unrelated to the upcoming task, the present research represents an important step forward in understanding how autobiographical recall influences actual behaviour.
authors.affiliation: a Center for Research on Cognition and Learning (CeRCA) , UMR CNRS 7295, University of Poitiers and National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) , Poitiers , France.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selimbegović
authors.affiliation: b Laboratory for Cognitive Psychology , UMR CNRS 7290, University of Aix-Marseille and National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Régner
authors.affiliation: b Laboratory for Cognitive Psychology , UMR CNRS 7290, University of Aix-Marseille and National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huguet
authors.affiliation: a Center for Research on Cognition and Learning (CeRCA) , UMR CNRS 7295, University of Poitiers and National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) , Poitiers , France.
authors.forename: Armand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Memory; autobiographical recall; cognitive performance; mediation; threat and challenge appraisal