[Effects of recollecting autobiographical memories on the emotional well-being of older adults].

This experiment examined the effect of different ways of recollecting autobiographical memories on emotional well-being. Participants between 65 and 80 years old (N = 70) were instructed to write about a memory from their life when they were 15 to 30 years old. They were asked to do this in a narrative way about a positive memory, in a narrative way about a negative memory or in an interpretative way about a negative memory. We also examined whether spontaneous reminiscence types in everyday life moderate the effects of the experimental manipulation on emotional well-being. Narrating positive memories is more favourable for negative affect than narrating or interpreting negative memories. There is no moderating role for everyday reminiscence types, even though these are related to emotional well-being. Manipulated and spontaneous reminiscence are therefore different. This is a favourable finding for reminiscence interventions, because they can stimulate positive memories, no matter how older people are used to memorize their past.