Contact Information:

490 Boston Avenue
Department of Psychology
Tufts University
Medford, MA 02155
USA

Telephone: (603) 866-9878

Pillemer, D. B., Ivcevic, Z., Collins, K. A., & Gooze, R. A. (2007).   Self-esteem memories: Feeling good about achievement success, feeling bad about relationship distress.   Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1292-1305.

College students provided memories of occassions when they felt especially good or especially bad about themselves. Probes directed the memory search to several different age intervals during childhood and adolescence. Predominant themes represented in self-esteem memories differed dramatically as a function of emotional valence. Memories of positive self-worth frequently focused on achievement/mastery themes, whereas memories of negative self-worth frequently focused on interpersonal/affiliation themes. A request for descriptions of events most likely to be remembered by a "typical" college student produced a similar pattern of results. When students evaluate the self through the lens of autobiographical memory, interpersonal distress is portrayed as especially damaging and achievement success is portrayed as especially enhancing. The asymmetry between positive and negative self-esteem memories is explained using multiple theoretical perspectives within social and personality psychology.