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Autobiographical memory research has largely focused on effortful, generative retrieval processes, particularly in cognitive ageing literature. However, recent evidence has shown that autobiographical memories are often retrieved directly, without effortful retrieval processes. In the present study, we examined the retrieval characteristics and the phenomenological qualities of directly and generatively retrieved memories in younger and older adults. Participants recalled autobiographical memories in response to word-cues and reported whether each of their memories was retrieved directly (i.e., memory popped into mind) or generatively (i.e., they actively searched for it), and provided ratings for several retrieval and phenomenological characteristics. Overall, directly retrieved autobiographical memories were recalled faster and with less effort, were more recent, more frequently rehearsed, more vivid, and more positive in valence than generatively retrieved memories. Importantly, while younger adults recalled a higher number of generatively retrieved autobiographical memories than older adults, there were no age effects on the number of directly retrieved memories. We also established the parallel-form reliability of the word-cue method in eliciting autobiographical memories by comparing two sets of word-cues. The results provide novel insights on the dissociable effects of retrieval type and ageing on autobiographical memories. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique set of circumstances in which to investigate collective memory and future simulations of events reported during the onset of a potentially historic event. Between early April and late June 2020, we asked over 4,000 individuals from 15 countries across four continents to report on remarkable (a) national and (b) global events that (i) had happened since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, and (ii) they expected to happen in the future. Whereas themes of infections, lockdown, and politics dominated global and national past events in most countries, themes of economy, a second wave, and lockdown dominated future events. The themes and phenomenological characteristics of the events differed based on contextual group factors. First, across all conditions, the event themes differed to a small yet significant degree depending on the severity of the pandemic and stringency of governmental response at the national level. Second, participants reported national events as less negative and more vivid than global events, and group differences in emotional valence were largest for future events. This research demonstrates that even during the early stages of the pandemic, themes relating to its onset and course were shared across many countries, thus providing preliminary evidence for the emergence of collective memories of this event as it was occurring. Current findings provide a profile of past and future collective events from the early stages of the ongoing pandemic, and factors accounting for the consistencies and differences in event representations across 15 countries are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and déjà vu have important shared characteristics, in this commentary, we focus on potential differences that may question the argument that two phenomena lie on a continuum. We propose that differences in their frequency and autonoetic consciousness could be explained by different types of cues and memory representations involved in experiencing IAMs and déjà vu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]