Autobiographical memories serve psychosocial functions in daily life and the use of memories is related to their valence. In the present study, we examined whether functions are also related to the intensity of positive and negative memories. Our sample included 110 participants (57–89 years of age). Memories were prompted with 30 emotionally neutral cue words. Participants rated the emotional quality of each memory and indicated how frequently they had recalled it for self-continuity, directing behavior, social-bonding, and mood-enhancement. We used multilevel modeling to test whether individual differences in the use of memories can explain why individuals recall different numbers of positive and negative memories as well as memories high or low in intensity. Each function revealed its specific pattern regarding valence and intensity but also regarding within-person and between-person effects. Mood-enhancement showed the strongest relations, which points to the importance of considering emotion regulation as a function of autobiographical memory.

自传体记忆在日常生活中具有社会心理功能，记忆的使用与其效价有关。在本研究中，我们检查了功能是否也与正面和负面记忆的强度有关。我们的样本包括 110 名参与者（57-89 岁）。记忆是由 30 个情绪中性的提示词来提示的。参与者对每个记忆的情绪质量进行评分，并指出他们为了自我连续性、指导行为、社会联系和情绪增强而回忆它的频率。我们使用多级建模来测试记忆使用的个体差异是否可以解释为什么个体回忆不同数量的正面和负面记忆以及高强度或低强度的记忆。每个功能都揭示了其在效价和强度方面的特定模式，但也揭示了人与人之间的影响。情绪增强表现出最强的关系，这表明将情绪调节视为自传记忆功能的重要性。