LE3 .A278 1999

1999

Holmberg, Diane

Acadia University

Master of Science

Masters

Clinical Psychology

Psychology

This thesis examined individuals' reactions to their partners' memory of an event in their shared past. Partners in 39 dating and married relationships exchanged prompted written descriptions of their first date together and privately recorded their reactions to their partners' recall. Another 15 couples did not exchange their reports, as a control for effects of sharing the report on the number of memories reported. Results indicated that males and females in both groups described the date in comparable detail, although females were credited with better perceived recall of relationship events. Participants were pleased with their partners' performance overall and indicated it had a positive effect on relationship quality. Better partner recall was associated with more positive attributions, especially for females. Results of this exploratory study contradict previous findings and encourage further study of reactions to relational memory.

The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2803