Recalling Tough Times: Exploring the Effect of Acceptance on Autobiographical Memory in Daily Life

When facing daily negative events, people implement different strategies to regulate ongoing emotions. While the literature suggests that the emotional correlates of an event (i.e., valence and arousal) are linked to the characteristics of its memory, the role of acceptance as an emotion regulation strategy (i.e., an open attitude towards one’s emotional experiences, thoughts, and/or bodily sensations without attempts to control, avoid, or alter them) in mnemonic processes is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to ecologically explore the effect of using acceptance to deal with a daily unpleasant episode on its subsequent memory

We used an ecological assessment embeded in correlational study design, asking participants (n = 73) to report an unpleasant episode using their smartphone as soon as possible after its occurrence and rate the momentary use of acceptance. To investigate memory phenomenology, two surprise recall tasks were performed 1 week and 1 month after, respectively.

Acceptance significantly moderated the relationship between an event’s emotional intensity and its memory. Specifically, individuals with low levels of acceptance tended to recall more details of highly emotional events. Conversely, people adopting high rates of acceptance retrieved less details as the emotional intensity of the event increased.

We suggest that acceptance may facilitate disengagement from unpleasant life experiences by reducing their recall, thereby constituting an adaptive emotion regulation strategy in activating circumstances.

This study was not preregistered.