Does simulating an older self increase memory positivity? Effects of self enhancement on the valence of the memory

Mental time travel to the past and to the future are respectively referred to as autobiographical memory and future simulation. If the self changes, then the time traveling is affected. For instance, when individuals become older, they tend to see the past as more valuable and remember it more positively. Additionally, individuals can construct different simulations of both the past and the future which cause reconstruction of the memory and affect how it is remembered. In the current study, we aimed to investigate whether simulating an autobiographical memory as an older individual would change its phenomenological experience and the affect related to this memory. There were 98 university students (54 males, 44 females) as participants. In the first session of the experiment, participants retrieved an important negative event and provided ratings for phenomenology and affect. In the second session, one group simulated themselves as older (older-self condition), and the other group simulated another older individual (older-other condition). They evaluated the same memory with these simulated older selves. Lastly, they evaluated the original memory once again as their current selves. The positivity of the memories in the older-self condition was higher than in the older-other condition. Participants experienced decreased negative affect related to the simulated memory, which persisted in the post-simulation, indicating reduced feeling of negativity toward the original memory. The present study once more highlights the strong relationship between self and memory, showing how distancing from the self can be reflected in the phenomenological experience of memories.