Autobiographical Memory and the Validity of Retrospective Reports

ISBN-13: 9781461276128 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 360 str.

Norbert Schwarz; Seymour Sudman

Opis

Autobiographical Memory and the Validity of Retrospective Reports presents the collaborative efforts of cognitive psychologists and research methodologists in the area of autobiographical memory. The editors have included an esteemed group of researchers whose work covers a wide range of issues related to autobiographical memory and the validity of retrospective reports, reflecting the diverse traditions in cognitive psychology and survey research. The first part of the book provides different theoretical perspectives on retrospective reports, along with supporting experimental evidence. The second part of this volume focuses specifically on retrospective reports of behaviors, including recall of the frequency and intensity of physical pain, of the number of cigarettes smoked, of dietary habits, and of child support payments. The following sections address the cognitive processes involved in event dating and time estimation, and a discussion of the differences between self and proxy reports. The final part extends the discussion of autobiographical memories in different directions, including the impact of autobiographical memories on individuals' assessment of their current life, the assessment of social change on the basis of retrospective reports, and the issue of collective memories. This book, an indispensable and timely resource for researchers and students of cognitive psychology as well as to survey methodologists and statisticians, demonstrates the considerable progress made in understanding the cognitive dynamics of retrospective reports.

Spis treści

and Overview.- I. Perspectives on Retrospective Reports.- 1 Autobiographical Memory and Survey Research.- 2 The Validity of Retrospective Reports as a Function of the Directness of Retrieval Processes.- 3 Accuracy, Truth, and Meaning in Autobiographical Reports.- 4 On Authenticating and Using Personal Recollections.- 5 Affect and Memory in Retrospective Reports.- II. Retrospective Reports of Behaviors.- 6 The Recall of Physical Pain.- 7 The Effects of Estimation Strategies on the Accuracy of Respondents’ Reports of Cigarette Smoking.- 8 Validity of Reports of Long-Term Dietary Memories: Data and a Model.- 9 Errors of Experience: Response Errors in Reports about Child Support and Their Implications for Questionnaire Design.- 10 Judgments of Behavorial Frequencies: Memory Search and Retrieval Strategies.- 11 On Providing Population Data To Improve Respondents’ Estimates of Autobiographical Frequencies.- 12 Retrospective Reports: The Impact of Response Formats.- III. Event Dating and Time Estimation.- 13 Telescoping and Temporal Memory.- 14 The Impact of Differing Memory Domains on Event-Dating Processes in Self and Proxy Reports.- IV. Comparisons of Self and Proxy Reports.- 15 Self and Proxy Reports of Everyday Events.- 16 The Effect of Participation Level on Reports of Behavior and Attitudes by Proxy Reporters.- 17 Reconstruction of Relationship Memories: A Mental Models Approach.- V. Memories of the Past and Judgment of Personal and Social Change.- 18 Biasing Effects of Retrospective Reports on Current Self-Assessments.- 19 Reconstructing Social Change through Retrospective Questions: Methodological Problems and Prospects.- 20 Collective Memories in the United States and Lithuania.- References.