The specificity of autobiographical memory in depressed and non-depressed participants /
The present study attempts to explore the specificity of autobiographical memories in patients suffering from major depressive disorder. It particularly explores the process of autobiographical recollection and examines the knowledge retrieved by patients as well as normal participants. Previous stu...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Gombak, Selangor :
Kulliyyah of Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia,
2007
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://studentrepo.iium.edu.my/handle/123456789/6687 |
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| Summary: | The present study attempts to explore the specificity of autobiographical memories in
patients suffering from major depressive disorder. It particularly explores the process
of autobiographical recollection and examines the knowledge retrieved by patients as
well as normal participants. Previous studies indicated that the patients frequently
produced summary accounts of categories of events while normal controls produced
the description of specific events (Williams, 1996). Moreover, several studies also
showed that depressed patients have considerable difficulties to move fluently
through the hierarchy knowledge base (Williams & Dritschel, 1988). Quasi
experimental design was used in this study. To analyse the memory description
content analyses were used. Two groups of study, depressed participants and nondepressed participants, were compared by using independent T-test and Chi-Square.
The dependent measures were retrieval time, length, the specificity of
autobiographical memory and memory type (positive memory, negative memory,
neutral memory and no memory). The rating scales were ‘importance’, ‘emotion
intensity’ and ‘vividness’. The cue words paradigm with Malaysian Version and Beck
Depression Inventory were administered to 13 depressed and 13 non-depressed
participants. The result showed that depressed patients have significantly shorter in
retrieval time than non-depressed participants. Depressed patients are significantly
less elaborative in memory descriptions as compared to non-depressed participants.
Depressed patients are significantly less specific and more categoric in memory
descriptions than non-depressed participants. Depressed patients’ memories contain
significantly more emotional components than the memories of their normal
counterparts. The present study would have significant implications to the diagnostic
and treatment decisions in clinical setting, and should therefore be explored at further
length in future research autobiographical memory and clinical depression |
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| Item Description: | 'A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Psychology'--On t.p. |
| Physical Description: | xii, 78 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. Also available on 4 3/4 in. computer laser optical disc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59 - 65). |