A Comparison of Self-Rated Emotion in Field and Observer Memory Perspectives

Abstract

The observer perspective of seeing one's self in recollection is often associated with memories that involve anxiety and self-consciousness. Does the observer perspective increase feelings of distress, or does it minimize threat? College student participants recalled emotional but non-traumatic events from the observer (or third person) perspective and from the field (or first person) perspective. Participants rated the perspective of each memory separately, and in comparison to the opposite perspective. Field memories were rated as producing more nervousness, emotionality, and self-consciousness. Even though the frequency of the observer perspective may increase for emotional versus nonemotional memories, this perspective may be adopted because it produces less distress than the field perspective.