Episodic elaboration: Investigating the structure of retrieved past events and imagined future events

Anderson, Rachel J.; Peters, Lien; Dewhurst, Stephen A.

Abstract

Five experiments investigated the cognitive processes involved in the elaboration of past and future events. A production listing procedure was used, in which participants listed details of each event in forwards chronological order, backwards chronological order, or free order. For both past and future events, forwards and free ordering conditions were reliably faster than backwards order. Production rates between past and future temporal directions did not differ in Experiments 1a, 1b, and 3. However, in Experiment 2, the elaboration of future events was faster than the elaboration of past events. This pattern can be explained by the findings of Experiment 4, in which production rates were faster for likely events than for unlikely events but only in the future condition. Overall, the findings suggest that the elaboration of future, but not past, events, is facilitated when constructed around current goals.

Citation

Anderson, R. J., Peters, L., & Dewhurst, S. A. (2015). Episodic elaboration: Investigating the structure of retrieved past events and imagined future events. Consciousness and cognition, 33(1), 112-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.12.007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 23, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2014
• Publication Date: May 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jul 29, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Consciousness and cognition
• Print ISSN: 1053-8100
• Electronic ISSN: 1053-8100
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 112-124
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.12.007
• Keywords: Mental time travel, Episodic memory, Future simulation, Executive resources, Event likelihood, Goals
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/377167
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810014002414
• Additional Information: Authors' accepted manuscript of article published in: Consciousness and cognition, 2015, v.33 at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810014002414