Research Interests

Current Research Projects:

Retrieval from Autobiographical Memory

This project aims to provide a causal explanation of involuntary, direct voluntary, and generative retrieval processes in autobiographical memory by disentangling the roles of intention, effort, and processing fluency. Although these dimensions have often been measured together in the literature, they have rarely been manipulated independently within the same experimental design, and “direct” and “involuntary” retrieval have frequently been used interchangeably. By addressing these two critical gaps, our project aims to make both a conceptual contribution by clarifying the categories of autobiographical memory retrieval and a methodological contribution by independently manipulating the underlying dimensions. This approach will allow us to empirically test the overlapping and diverging predictions of the Self-Memory System and threshold-based models. 

Collective Memory

Although previous research has made important contributions to the collective memory literature, it has remained limited in explaining how public events are organized in the human mind and which factors shape this organization. Yet, understanding how public events are represented, how information is stored, and how these representations are interconnected is crucial, because the structure of these representations directly influences how individuals make sense of social events and how they remember events from the collective past. Moreover, these processes of meaning making and remembering also shape individuals’ perceptions of their group and social identities. For this reason, identifying the principles underlying the organization of collective memory is essential for understanding how social knowledge is transmitted across generations. Within this project, we aim to contribute to the literature by investigating how public events, as a core form of collective memory, are organized in the human mind. 

Autobiographical Memory Narratives, Functions and Well-Being

Understanding how autobiographical memories are structured as narratives, how these narratives serve distinct psychological functions, and how these functions contribute to well-being is crucial, because narrative organization directly shapes individuals’ sense of identity, their ability to regulate emotions, and their capacity to derive meaning from life experiences. These processes are especially important in periods of stress and transition, when maladaptive narrative patterns may undermine psychological resilience. Within this project, we aim to contribute to the literature by systematically examining how narrative properties of autobiographical memories shape their functional roles and, in turn, influence mental health and well-being.