Abstract/Summary

When recalling autobiographical memories (AMs) persons often engage in visual imagery using two types of visual imagery perspectives (VIPs); Field (first-person perspective) and Observer (third-person perspective). The type of VIP adopted can impact the nature and content of recalled memories as well as play an important role in emotion regulation, emotional wellbeing, and the development of one’s sense of self. The impact of culture on VIP use has received little attention but preliminary findings comparing Asian and North American persons have suggested that persons from collectivistic cultures more often use an Observer perspective during AM recall than persons from individualistic cultures. Self-construal (i.e., being independently or interdependently oriented) has been proposed to mediate the relationship between culture (in terms of nationality) and VIP use. The studies of this thesis explore the interrelationships between nationality, self-construal, and VIP use during AM recall. They are the first to explore the role of culture in VIP use using Caribbean and United Kingdom samples. They are also the first to measure self-construal at the individual level as opposed to assuming culture based on nationality alone. Measuring self-construal also allowed for its mediating role in the relationship between culture and VIP use to be tested. Taken together, the results did not consistently reveal the culturally expected patterns of VIP use or self-construal and they did not provide support for the mediating role of self-construal in the relationship between nationality and VIP use. These findings not only challenge preliminary research but they highlight the difficulties associated with measuring complex concepts such as self-construal. The findings of this research have important implications for the field of AM and cross-cultural psychology at large.