Getting better without memory

摘要

Does the tendency to adjust appraisals of ourselves in the past and future in order tomaintain a favourable view of ourselves in the present require episodic memory? Adevelopmental amnesic person with impaired episodic memory (HC) was compared with twogroups of age-matched controls on tasks assessing the Big Five personality traits andsocial competence in relation to the past, present and future. Consistent with previousresearch, controls believed that their personality had changed more in the past 5 yearsthan it will change in the next 5 years (i.e. the end-of-history illusion), and ratedtheir present and future selves as more socially competent than their past selves (i.e.social improvement illusion), although this was moderated by self-esteem. Despite herlifelong episodic memory impairment, HC also showed these biases of temporalself-appraisal. Together, these findings do not support the theory that the temporalextension of the self-concept requires the ability to recollect richly detailed memoriesof the self in the past and future.