Redemption in context: Examining the role of motivated narration in key autobiographical memories
Date
2024-05
Authors
Wasinger, Grace
Major Professor
Advisor
Costabile, Kristi
Crede, Marcus
Križan, Zlatan
Committee Member
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Abstract
Individuals narrate their autobiographical memories in everyday conversation (Pasupathi et al., 2009). Autobiographical narratives are told within sociocultural contexts that influence how stories are shared (Marsh & Tversky, 2004). The present thesis examines how individuals narrate their low point autobiographical life experiences in goal-motivated contexts with particular attention on the use of redemptive sequences (i.e., individuals describe a negative personal narrative and conclude it with a positivity). Study 1a examines how individuals narrate a low point life experience in the context of a social goal (i.e., self-presentation). Study 1a manipulated self-presentation through the two-component model (Leary & Kowalski, 1990) to understand the degree to which individuals tailor autobiographical memories and use redemptive sequences in a social context in which a positive, competent self-presentation goal is salient. Participant narratives from Study 1a were given to third-party raters in Study 1b to examine the efficacy of motivated narration. Study 1a revealed that participants who were in contexts in which the goal to make a favorable impression was salient narrated their low point autobiographical life experience stories with more redemptive themes than did participants who were in contexts in which the goal to make a favorable impression was less salient. Moreover, Study 1b suggested that redemption mediates the association between impression management and suitability ratings. The present thesis serves an important contribution to the autobiographical narrative literature by showcasing how narratives of redemption can result from social goals embedded within memory-sharing contexts and that motivated narration to align with the cultural norm of redemption garners favorable perceptions from others.
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thesis