Concept information
Preferred term
overgeneral memory
Definition
- Autobiographical memories without reference to a specific event. These memories tend to be more common in people with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Broader concept
Synonym(s)
- memory overgenerality
- overgeneral autobiographical memory
- reduced autobiographical memory specificity
Belongs to group
Bibliographic citation(s)
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• Barry, T. J., Hallford, D. J., & Takano, K. (2021). Autobiographical memory impairments as a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness : A meta-analytic review of investigations into autobiographical memory specificity and overgenerality among people with psychiatric diagnoses. Psychological Bulletin, 47(10), 1054–1074. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000345
• Document type: meta-analysis
• Access: closed
• Dataset reference: Barry, T. J., Hallford, D. J., & Takano, K. (2022, April 6). Autobiographical Memory Impairments as a Transdiagnostic Feature of Mental Illness. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3RJUZ
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• Barry, T. J., Takano, K., Hallford, D. J., Roberts, J. E., Salmon, K., & Raes, F. (2023). Autobiographical memory and psychopathology: Is memory specificity as important as we make it seem? WIREs Cognitive Science, 14(3), e1624. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1624
• Document type: literature review
• Access: open
- • Doan, U., Hong, D., Mares, L., Butler, M., Askelund, A. D., Gutenbrunner, C., Hiller, R., Nixon, R. D. V., Puetz, V., Jose, P. E., Metts, A., Alloy, L. B., Gibb, B. E., Hipwell, A. E., Salmon, K., Powell, V., Warne, N., Rice, F., & Hitchcock, C. (2025). The predictive power of autobiographical memory in shaping the mental health of young people : An individual participant data meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 151(4), 455‑475. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000474
• Document type: meta-analysis
• Access: closed
- • Hallford, D. J., Rusanov, D., Yeow, J. J. E., & Barry, T. J. (2021). Overgeneral and specific autobiographical memory predict the course of depression : An updated meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 51(6), 909 - 926. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721001343
• Document type: empirical study
• Access: closed
- • Ono, M., Devilly, G. J., & Shum, D. H. K. (2016). A meta-analytic review of overgeneral memory : The role of trauma history, mood, and the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 8(2), 157‑164. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000027
{{#each properties}}• Document type: meta-analysis
• Access: closed
- • Preko, T., Edler, K., Behrens, B., & Valentino, K. (2023). A meta-analysis of the influence of cue valence on overgeneral memory and autobiographical memory specificity among youth. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 51(11), 1683–1698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01099-0
• Document type: meta-analysis
• Access: closed
- • Weiss-Cowie, S., Verhaeghen, P., & Duarte, A. (2023). An updated account of overgeneral autobiographical memory in depression. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 149, 105157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105157
• Document type: meta-analysis
• Access: closed
- • Williams, J. M., & Broadbent, K. (1986). Autobiographical memory in suicide attempters. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(2), 144-149. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.95.2.144
• Document type: empirical study
• Access: closed
- • Williams, J. M. G., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Herman, D., Raes, F., Watkins, E., & Dalgleish, T. (2007). Autobiographical memory specificity and emotional disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 122-148. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.122
• Document type: literature review
• Access: open
Creator
- Frank Arnould
Has model(s)
Has study method(s)
In other languages
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French
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souvenir autobiographique surgénéralisé
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souvenir général
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/P66-JDM901RR-4{{/each}}{{label}}
{{#each values }} {{! loop through ConceptPropertyValue objects }} {{#if prefLabel }}{{/if}} {{/each}}{{#if notation }}{{ notation }} {{/if}}{{ prefLabel }} {{#ifDifferentLabelLang lang }} ({{ lang }}){{/ifDifferentLabelLang}}{{#if vocabName }} {{ vocabName }} {{/if}} - • Doan, U., Hong, D., Mares, L., Butler, M., Askelund, A. D., Gutenbrunner, C., Hiller, R., Nixon, R. D. V., Puetz, V., Jose, P. E., Metts, A., Alloy, L. B., Gibb, B. E., Hipwell, A. E., Salmon, K., Powell, V., Warne, N., Rice, F., & Hitchcock, C. (2025). The predictive power of autobiographical memory in shaping the mental health of young people : An individual participant data meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 151(4), 455‑475. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000474