Temporal Self-Appraisal in Developmental Amnesia

According to temporal self-appraisal theory, people evaluate themselves in the past in a way that makes them feel good about themselves in the present. In line with this theory, studies have shown that people believe their personality has changed more in the past than it will change in the future. This thesis investigated whether episodic memory plays a role in one's temporal self-appraisal. A person with developmental amnesia and episodic memory impairment (H.C.) was compared with groups of age-matched controls on tasks assessing their personality traits and social competence in the present, the past, and the future. H.C. and controls reported that their personality has changed more in the past five years than it will change in the next five years and rated their present selves as more socially competent than their past selves. The findings suggest that temporal self-appraisal does not require one to revisit experiences in episodic memory