Impact of aphantasia on identity and directive function of autobiographical memory

Abstract

Autobiographical memory (AM) enables us to relive or imagine personal experiences. AM presents three main functions: identity (our experiences build our identity), directive (our experiences guide our behavior to adapt to future scenarios), and social (creating and maintaining social bonds). The recognition that individuals present a lack of mental imagery – aphantasia – opened up new scientific avenues to study how mental imagery contributes to AM. Earlier studies revealed reduced AM capacities in aphantasia. However, no study has investigated the impact on AM’s identity, directive, and social functions. In this study, participants with and without aphantasia completed AM self-questionnaires online. Aphantasic individuals report less use of their memories for identity or directive purposes than the non-aphantasic group but with no difference for social purposes. A lack of mental imagery seems to affect AM by impacting the sense of self and adapting to the environment but with no impact on social functions.