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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01tb09j905s
Title: Autobiographical Thought as a Map: Using Introspection, Conversation, and Imagination to Navigate Identity Formation and Decision-Making
Authors: Enz, Karalyn Fay
Advisors: Coman, Alin I
Tamir, Diana I
Contributors: Psychology Department
Keywords: Autobiographical memory
Conversation
Decision-making
Episodic simulation
Identity
Network analysis
Subjects: Social psychology
Cognitive psychology
Issue Date: 2024
Publisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University
Abstract: Why do we think and talk about ourselves and our lives? Autobiographical thoughts about the past and future allow people to clarify their sense of self, strengthen their social bonds, and direct their behavior in the present. In this dissertation, we first introduce what autobiographical thought is as well as how and why people engage in it (Chapter 1). Then, we present three sets of empirical studies testing how the relations among autobiographical thoughts underly these self, social, and directive functions. In Chapter 2, we map individualized networks of people’s memories and identities, showing that the pattern of connections people perceive among their autobiographical thoughts predicts self-concept clarity, rumination, and depression. It is not any one memory or identity but, rather, the relations among them that shape how people feel about themselves. In Chapter 3, we move to the social realm of autobiographical thought, where conversing about personal stories with others facilitates shared identity that strengthens people’s sense of self and group identification. Autobiographical thought fosters identity through the relationships people form with others. In Chapter 4, we use autobiographical thought to mentally travel to the future by simulating an option for an upcoming decision, which shifts how people think about all of their options, not just the one they simulated. By enhancing the likelihood of choosing the simulated option relative to other options, autobiographical future thought ultimately affects the decisions people make. Finally, we consider a forgetting-based mechanism that could explain functionally relevant changes in the relations among autobiographical thoughts as well as implications of this research for clinical settings (Chapter 5). Researchers and clinicians alike need to consider the interconnectedness of autobiographical thought in order to fully understand how it functions. Only then can we follow the paths of autobiographical thought to help people navigate their inner selves, social relationships, and future decisions.
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01tb09j905s
Type of Material: Academic dissertations (Ph.D.)
Language: en
Appears in Collections:Psychology

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