Involuntary Autobiographical Memories: An Introduction to the Unbidden Past - Hardcover

Dorthe Berntsen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521866162 ISBN 13: 9780521866163

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

We often remember personal experiences without any conscious effort. A piece of music heard on the radio may stir a memory of a moment from the past. Such occurrences are known as involuntary autobiographical memories. They often occur in response to environmental stimuli or aspects of current thought. Until recently, they were treated almost exclusively as a clinical phenomenon, as a sign of distress or a mark of trauma. In this innovative new work, however, Dorthe Berntsen argues that involuntary memories are predominantly positive and far more common than previously believed. She argues that they reflect a basic mode of remembering that predates the more advanced strategic retrieval mode, and that their primary function may simply be to prevent us from living in the present. Reviewing a variety of cognitive, clinical, and aesthetic approaches, this monograph will be of immense interest to anyone seeking to better understand this misunderstood phenomenon.

About this title

About the Author

Dorthe Berntsen is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Aarhus.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521866162
• ISBN 13: 9780521866163
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 242