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Impairments in retrieving event-level, specific autobiographical memories, termed overgeneral memory (OGM), are recognised as a feature of clinical depression. A previous meta-analytic review assessing how OGM predicts the course of subsequent depressive symptoms showed small effects for correlations and regression analyses when baseline depressive symptoms were controlled for. We aimed to update this study and examine whether their findings replicate given the decade of research that has been published since. A systematic literature review using the same eligibility criteria as the previous meta-analysis led to a doubling of eligible studies (32 v. 15). The results provided more precise estimates of effect sizes, and largely support the finding that OGM predicts the course of depressive symptoms. The effects were generally small, but significantly larger among clinical samples, compared to studies with non-clinical samples. There was some evidence that higher age was associated with stronger effects, and longer follow-up was associated with weaker effects. The findings on other moderating variables that were analysed were mixed. Continued research into this modifiable cognitive process may help to provide an avenue to better understand and treat highly prevalent and impactful depressive disorders.

Autobiographical memory specificity is known to contribute to better mental health, social problem-solving, and episodic future thinking. While numerous studies have addressed variables that affect autobiographical memory specificity, little is known regarding the meta-memory processes that underpin memory retrieval. In this study, we introduced two meta-memory constructs, ease of retrieval judgments and anticipation of negative emotion evoked, which potentially affect autobiographical memory specificity. Participants ( N = 109) first rated the ease of retrieval and anticipated emotions for positive and negative words used in a subsequent autobiographical memory test. We used the Optional Instructions of the Autobiographical Memory Test , in which participants were instructed that “specific memories are better, but other memories are permissible,” allowing them to adjust how much cognitive effort they spent on generative retrieval after a failure of direct retrieval. They also self-judged whether each retrieval was generative (using additional cues with cognitive effort) or direct (immediate recall without much cognitive effort). Results showed that for generative retrieval, ease of retrieval was associated with greater specific and general memories and fewer omissions. A more negative anticipated emotion was associated with fewer specific memories and greater omissions, but was not with general memories. These results suggest that low retrievability and anticipated negative emotion prevent individuals from devoting efforts to generative retrieval. The lack of association between anticipated negative emotion and general memory calls into question the functional avoidance hypothesis regarding autobiographical memory specificity. We discussed how participants judged these meta-memories and directions for future research.

Increased overgeneral categoric memory has been reported in individuals with dysphoria and a history of depression. In three experiments, we examined whether increased categoric memory among individuals with depression occurs through generative or direct retrieval. Generative retrieval requires effort or additional information until the end of retrieval; direct retrieval occurs without such effort or information. Participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Test with minimal instructions and were asked whether each retrieval was generative or direct. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a self-reported scale and structured interview. Across three studies, we found that individuals with dysphoria and a history of depression reported high proportions of categoric memory via direct retrieval for negative cues. In addition, Study 3 showed that trait dysfunctional schema predicts direct retrieval of categoric memory for negative cues. We suggest that direct retrieval of categoric memory could indicate depression vulnerability. Decomposing the overgeneral memory (OGM) will help us gain a better understanding of the association between OGM and its negative outcomes.

BackgroundOvergeneral categoric memory is known as a vulnerability factor for depression, yet increased retrieval of categoric memories among depressed individuals has been observed in voluntary but not involuntary retrieval tasks. Here we propose that, increased categoric memory occurs during involuntary memory tasks when cued by schema-related stimuli, which tend to activate dysfunctional and negative self-schema in depression.MethodsA vigilance task measuring involuntary memory was administered to 27 dysphoric, 26 past depressed, and 27 healthy control participants. Participants also responded to several questions measuring each memory characteristic (e.g., evoked emotion) and a dysfunctional schema scale.ResultsResults supported the hypothesis that dysphoric and past depressed groups reported more involuntary categoric memories for schema-related (particularly negative) stimuli relative to a healthy control group. Dysfunctional schema score was positively correlated with the number of involuntary categoric memories retrieved following schema-related negative stimuli. Involuntary categoric memory for schema-related stimuli was related to negative evoked emotion, and dysphoric participants experienced more negative emotion in response to positive stimuli.Discussion and ConclusionThese findings suggest that schema-based involuntary categoric memory may be vulnerable to the persistence and relapse of depression.

People high in depressive symptoms show probability bias: they think negative events are relatively likely, especially compared with positive events. However, their past- and future-related thinking also has other distinctive characteristics, so we wondered how independent probability bias is from these other phenomena. In two samples of Turkish students (Ns = 163 and 179), we found that depressive symptoms were the strongest predictor of probability bias even when rumination, intrusive future imagery, overgeneral memory and anxiety were controlled in our models; furthermore, probability bias remained a significant predictor of depression when these other variables were controlled. These results suggest that a relatively negative probability bias is an independent correlate of depressive symptoms, and is not simply confounded with other past- or future thinking-related phenomena that have been observed in more depressed individuals. We hope that future individual differences and clinical research will focus more on depression-related probability bias.

Overgeneral memory (OGM), or difficulty recalling specific memories when recounting autobiographical events, is associated with psychopathology. According to functional avoidance theory, OGM—or reduced autobiographical memory specificity (AMS)—may serve as an emotion regulation strategy that aids in the avoidance of painful, negative memories (Sumner, 2012; Williams et al., 2007). Some researchers argue that there may be a valence effect for OGM, such that there is a higher frequency of overgenerality when recalling negative memories compared to positive memories. Although not supported among adults, valence effects may be present among children and adolescents if OGM initially develops in response to negative cues and then generalizes to all memory recall over time. This meta-analysis examined differences in child and adolescent OGM and AMS based on cue valance; standardized mean differences between negative and positive valence cues for OGM and AMS indices were calculated. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search resulted in 26 studies assessing OGM and 30 assessing AMS. There was a significant effect of valence on OGM (d = 0.17, p = 0.01) and AMS (d = -0.20, p = 0.01). There was a higher frequency of overgeneral responses to negative cue words than positive cue words. Similarly, there was a higher frequency of specific responses for positive cue words than negative cue words. Subgroup analyses considering differences in valence effects by participant age (childhood vs. adolescence), sample type (clinical vs. community), and task instructions (verbal vs. written) were not significant. Theoretical advancements for our understanding of OGM and AMS and clinical implications are discussed.

Overgeneral memory (OGM) refers to the failure to recall memories of specific personally experienced events, which occurs in various psychiatric disorders. One pathway through which OGM is theorized to develop is the avoidance of thinking of negative experiences, whereby cumulative avoidance may maladaptively generalize to autobiographical memory (AM) more broadly. We tested this, predicting that negative experiences would interact with avoidance to predict AM specificity. In Study 1 ( N = 281), negative life events (over six months) and daily hassles (over one month) were not related to AM specificity, nor was avoidance, and no interaction was found. In Study 2 ( N = 318), we revised our measurements and used an increased timeframe of 12 months for both negative life events and daily hassles. The results showed no interaction effect for negative life events, but they did show an interaction for daily hassles, whereby increased hassles and higher avoidance of thinking about them were associated with reduced AM specificity, independent of general cognitive avoidance and depressive symptoms. No evidence was found that cognitive avoidance or AM specificity moderated the effect of negative experiences on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that life events over 6–12 months are not associated with AM specificity, but chronic daily hassles over 12 months predict reduced AM specificity when individuals avoid thinking about them. The findings provide evidence for the functional-avoidance hypothesis of OGM development and future directions for longitudinal studies.

BackgroundDepression is characterized by different forms of overgeneralization that are all assumed to play a causal role in the development and course of depression.MethodsWe examined, in a community sample of over 625 individuals, whether these different forms of overgeneralization are correlated and whether they are prospective predictors of depression at 6-month follow-up.ResultsNegative overgeneralization to the self and across situations—two types of overgeneralized thinking processes—were significantly but weakly related, but neither of them was related to overgeneral memory—a memory-based form of overgeneralization. Overgeneralization to the self and overgeneral memory both predicted depression symptoms at follow-up. Further, two and three-way interactions indicated that higher levels of overgeneralization processes interact to predict depressive symptoms. Overgeneralization to the self and overgeneral memory both independently predicted probable recurrence of a major depressive episode during the follow-up period in individuals that formerly experienced depression.ConclusionsFindings suggest that overgeneralization in depression is not a unitary construct and that different overgeneralization processes play independent and interacting roles in the course of depression.

Background Youth depression is highly prevalent and is related to impairments in academic, social and behavioural functioning. Evidence-based treatments are available, but many young people do not respond or sufficiently recover with first-line options, and a significant proportion experience relapse. Consequently, there is clear scope to enhance intervention in this critical period of early-onset depression. Memory specificity training (MeST) is a low-intensity intervention for depression that targets reduced specificity when recalling memories of the past, a common cognitive vulnerability in depression. This randomised controlled trial will assess the efficacy of adding a computerised version of MeST (c-MeST) to usual care for youth depression. Methods/design Young people aged 15–25 years with a major depressive episode (MDE) will be recruited and randomised to have immediate access to the seven session online c-MeST program in addition to usual care, or to usual care and wait-list for c-MeST. The primary outcomes will be diagnostic status of an MDE and self-reported depressive symptoms assessed at baseline, 1-, 3- and 6-month intervals. Autobiographical memory specificity and other variables thought to contribute to the maintenance of reduced memory specificity and depression will be assessed as mediators of change. Discussion Online provision of c-MeST provides a simple, low-intensity option for targeting a cognitive vulnerability that predicts the persistence of depressive symptoms. If found to be efficacious as an adjunct to usual care for depressed youth, it could be suitable for broader roll-out, as c-MeST is highly accessible and implementation requires only minimal resources due to the online and automated nature of intervention. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12619000234112p . Registered on the 18 February 2019. All items from the WHO Trial Registration Data Set can be found within the protocol. Protocol version 1.0

The present study examined whether positive specific memory recall improves mood more than overgeneral memory recall. Moreover, this study examined the mood contrast effect in subclinically depressed participants. The mood contrast effect refers to when people ruminate on discrepancies between the current self and a past ideal self by recall of positive self-discrepant (low self-concordant) memories and thereby, fall into a negative mood. Undergraduate students (N = 161) underwent a negative mood induction, and then concentrated on positive specific memory recall, positive overgeneral memory recall, or distraction. Results showed that there were no group differences in mood repair. Nevertheless, recalled memory self-concordance was associated with sad mood repair in the specific memory group, and moreover, this effect was not significant in people high in depressive symptoms. We discussed the results of mood repair effect from the perspective of baseline negative mood in subclinical depression.