The Effect of Attachment Dimensions on the Phenomenological Characteristics of Autobiographical and Self-Defining Memories

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationships between attachment anxiety and avoidance dimensions and autobiographical and self-defining memories. Forty eight university students (women = 32, men = 16) participated to the study. The relationships between attachment dimensions, autobiographical and self-defining memories were examined within the context of the memory phenomenology. Results revealed that attachment anxiety significantly predicted breakdown in narrative coherence and hyperactivation in the affective system for both positive and negative autobiographical and self-defining memories. Results also indicated that attachment anxiety increased recollection and perceptual details for negative autobiographical and self-defining memories. Attachment avoidance significantly predicted observer viewpoint and deactivation in the affective system for both positive and negative autobiographical and self-defining memories. For positive and negative self-defining memories and positive autobiographical memories, attachment avoidance enhanced narrative coherence. Findings indicated that attachment dimensions have a consistent effect on the phenomenological characteristics of autobiographical memory.