Abstract
Involuntary autobiographical memories are memories of personal experiences that occur without a conscious attempt at their retrieval. Such memories are known to occur as recurrent involuntary memories; in other words, recurrent involuntary autobiographical memories are memories that people subjectively experience repetitively. These studies aim to clarify the emotional features and functions of recurrent involuntary memories in non-clinical populations. In Study 1, 170 undergraduates were asked to recall one recurrent involuntary memory from their everyday life. In Study 2, 99 undergraduates were asked to recall one positive and one negative recurrent involuntary memory. In Study 3, 202 undergraduates were asked to recall three recurrent involuntary memories. The relationship between emotional valence and the three functions (self, social, and directive) of autobiographical memory was analyzed. The results indicated that the recurrent involuntary memories were dominated by negative emotions and functioned mainly as a guide to the present and future behavior.
