TIME (Translational Approaches to Imagination and Memory)
The research unit TIME (Translational Approaches to Imagination and Memory) translates results from basic research in autobiographical memory and future thinking into new, integrated research domains, such as collective memory or environmental psychology, and into meaningful interventions that can be used in clinical, organisational or educational contexts.
The ability to remember your personal past and imagine your future is called autobiographical memory. Autobiographical memory is a prerequisite for establishing a coherent life story. Being able to remember the past and having a coherent life story is crucial for our experience of identity and meaning. Basic research into the fields of autobiographical memory, life story and future thinking has grown significantly over the past two decades. Researchers at our research unit all work with autobiographical memory, life stories and futures thinking, but they have backgrounds in different branches of psychology (cognition, development, work psychology, clinical psychology and neuropsychology). Our research group has two main goals: Firstly, to translate the results of basic research into new, integrated research domains such as collective memory or environmental psychology. Secondly, to translate results from basic research into meaningful interventions that can be applied in practice, for example in clinical, organisational or educational contexts.
Who are we?
Publications
Matsumoto, N., Hallford, D. & Watson, L. A. (2026). Accessibility model of overgeneral autobiographical memory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 196, Article 104921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104921
Camia, C. & Bohn, A. (Eds.) (2025). Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story: New Perspectives on Narrative Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Camia, C. & Bohn, A. (2025). Conceptualizing Cultural Life Scripts as Master Narratives: An Underestimated Tool to Explore Life Stories. In C. Camia & A. Bohn (Eds.), Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story: New Perspectives on Narrative Identity Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Messina, A. & Watson, L. A. (2025). Impact of interoceptive sensibility on retrieval-induced forgetting for emotional cue words. Psychology & Neuroscience. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pne000037
Klug, K., Bohn, A., Allé, M. C., Kongshøj, I. L. L., Camia, C. & Gandolphe, M.-C. (2025). Impact of Memory Objects and Tattoos on the Recall of Important Life Events. Abstract from SARMAC XV, Ireland.
Camia, C. & Bohn, A. (2025). Introduction. In C. Camia & A. Bohn (Eds.), Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story: New Perspectives on Narrative Identity (pp. 1-6). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009492140
Isham, A. E., Watson, L. A., Bohn, A., Jørgensen, C. R. & Mehlum, L. (2025). Involuntary autobiographical memories: a potential vulnerability factor for the emergence of BPD during adolescence?. Abstract from SARMAC XV, Ireland.
Boeltzig, M., Schubotz, R. I. & Bohn, A. (2025). "It has begun": Social Identities and Event Impact as Predictors of Flashbulb Memories of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.. Poster session presented at SweCog2025, Lund, Sweden.
Matsumoto, N. & Watson, L. A. (2025). Meta-autobiographical Remembering Questionnaire (MARQ): Metacognitive Beliefs About Voluntary and Involuntary Negative and Positive Autobiographical Memories. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 49(6), 1144–1162. Article 101569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-025-10607-z
Sawatzki, D. & Thomsen, D. K. (2025). Narrative Work Identity and Resilience: Redemption Prospectively Predicts Teachers' Stress Resilience at Work. Journal of Personality. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.70028
Sætre, F., Watson, L. A. & Anda, L. G. (2025). Norske kvinners opplevelser av hva som var hjelpsomt for tilfriskning fra fødselsdepresjon. Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening, 24-34. https://doi.org/10.52734/CAIH2538
Zaragoza Scherman, A., Koch, M. K. & Bluck, S. (2025). Nostalgia Advertising for Marketing Toys: Effects of Lifetime Period Cueing and Parent Gender on Purchase Intention. Poster session presented at SARMAC XV, Ireland.
Rasmussen, K. W. & Berntsen, D. (2025). Nostalgia Films Improve the Episodic Richness of the Life Story in Alzheimer’s Dementia. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/mac0000233
Christensen, D. S., Jensen, R. A. A., Holm, T., Roe, D., Slade, M., Lind, M., Pedersen, A. M., Watson, L. A. & Thomsen, D. K. (2025). Recovery in Telling Life Stories (RETELL): Development and pilot study of a narrative identity intervention to support personal recovery in severe mental illness. Poster session presented at Psykiatriens Forskningsdag 2025, Aarhus, Denmark.
Kara, D. & Bohn, A. (2025). Reminiscence bump or transition bump?: How are important life events of immigrants distributed across the life span?. Abstract from SARMAC XV, Ireland.
Sawatzki, D. & Thomsen, D. K. (2025). Resilience Through Redemption: The Power of Narrative Work Identity. Poster session presented at European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology 2025, Prag, Czech Republic.
Christensen, D. S., Holm, T., Jensen, R. A. A., Lind, M., Pedersen, A. M., Watson, L. A. & Thomsen, D. K. (2025). RETELL: Recovery in Telling Life Stories Development and pilot study of a narrative identity intervention to support personal recovery in severe mental illness. Poster session presented at Refocus on Recovery, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Öner, S., Szpunar, K., Watson, L. A. & Cole, S. (2025). Spatial Optimism in Individuals' Future Thinking About the COVID-19 Pandemic. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 39(3), Article e70080. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.70080
Herbener, A. B., Bohn, A. & Pfattheicher, S. (2024). Bringing Past Kindness into the Present: Memories of Acts of Kindness are Vivid, Memorable, and Feel Good. Collabra: Psychology, 10(1), Article 21246. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.121246
Kongshøj, I. L. L. & Bohn, A. (2024). Does age matter in posttraumatic stress disorder? The effects of age, event centrality, and trauma type on trauma aftermath. Traumatology (Online), 30(4), 559-568. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000465
Fasano, M. C., Lazarov, A., Willert, M. V., Dalgaard, V. L. P., Watson, L. A., Kringelbach, M. L. & Jønsson, T. F. (2024). Eye-tracking burnout and depression: Investigating attention allocation to different emotional cues in work-related stress and depression. Poster session presented at Forskningsdag, Randers, Denmark.
Zhang, Y. F., Lauritsen, S. K., Villumsen, S. M. M. & Sawatzki, D. (2024). Fra mistrivsel til resiliens i et digitaliseret arbejdsliv - et alternativt perspektiv. Psyke & Logos, 45(1), 102-125. https://doi.org/10.7146/pl.v45i1.146548
Pedersen, A. M., Straarup, K., Holm, T., Sawatzki, D., Tranberg Hansen, M. & Thomsen, D. K. (2024). Illness and narrative identity: examining past and future life story chapters in individuals with bipolar disorder, diabetes mellitus or no chronic illness. Memory, 32(7), 819-832. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2024.2366625
Zaragoza Scherman, A., Salgado, S., Zosh, J. M., Bluck, S. & Berntsen, D. (2024). Recalling Autobiographical Memories of Childhood and Adulthood Play and Shopping: Effects on Play Attitudes and Purchase Intentions for Toys and Games. Poster session presented at 65th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, New York City, United States.
Christensen, D. S., Holm, T., Jensen, R. A. A., Lind, M., Pedersen, A. M., Watson, L. A. & Thomsen, D. K. (2024). Supporting Personal Recovery: Testing a Narrative Identity Intervention. Poster session presented at Psykiatriens Forskningsdag 2024, Aarhus, Denmark.
Rasmussen, K. W., Kirk, M., Overgaard, S. B. & Berntsen, D. (2024). The Days We Never Forget: Flashbulb Memories Across the Lifespan in Alzheimer’s Disease. Memory & Cognition, 52(7), 1477-1493. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-024-01558-z
Lanciano, T., Alfeo, F., Curci, A., Marin, C., D’Uggento, A. M., Decarolis, D., Öner, S., Anthony, K., Barzykowski, K., Bascón, M., Benavides, A., Cabildo, A., de la Mata-Benítez, M. L., Ergen, İ., Filip, K., Gofman, A., Janssen, S. M. J., Kai-bin, Z., Markostamou, I. ... Watson, L. A. (2024). The flashbulb-like nature of memory for the first COVID-19 case and the impact of the emergency: A cross-national survey. Memory, 32(2), 264-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2024.2310554
Kato, D., Zaragoza Scherman, A., Suzuki, M. & Matsumoto, N. (2024). The relationship between event centrality and role satisfaction among Japanese university students. Journal of Human Environmental Studies, 22(2), 203-208. https://doi.org/10.4189/shes.22.203
Hjuler, T. F., Watson, L. A., Bohn, A. & Hoyle, R. (2023). A troubled past with a brighter future? Children’s and adolescents’ Covid-19 related memories and future projections. Poster session presented at 20th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Öner, S., Watson, L. A., Adıgüzel, Z., Ergen, İ., Bilgin, E., Curci, A., Cole, S., de la Mata, M. L., Janssen, S. M. J., Lanciano, T., Markostamou, I., Nourkova, V., Santamaría, A., Taylor, A., Barzykowski, K., Bascón, M., Bermeitinger, C., Cubero-Pérez, R., Dessenberger, S. ... Uner, O. (2023). Collective remembering and future forecasting during the COVID-19 pandemic: How the impact of COVID-19 affected the themes and phenomenology of global and national memories across 15 countries. Memory and Cognition, 51(3), 729-751. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-022-01329-8
Zaragoza Scherman, A. (2023). Cultural Life Scripts. In L. M. Bietti & M. Pogacar (Eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Memory Studies Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93789-8_6-1
Camia, C., Alhallami, A. O., Alhattali , D. K., Al Hosani , B. M. & Bohn, A. (2023). Historical change in the Emirati Life Script. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(6), 1183-1198. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4112
Zaragoza Scherman, A. (2023). Memories of childhood and adulthood play: Effects of nostalgia on play attitudes and purchase intent. Paper presented at SARMAC , Nagoya.
Kaiser, A. P., Rasmussen, K. W. & Berntsen, D. (2023). Music-evoked autobiographical memories in Alzheimer’s disease: the effect of event-specific stimuli. Poster session presented at The Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Nagoya, Japan.
Kaiser, A. P., Rasmussen, K. W. & Berntsen, D. (2023). Music-evoked autobiographical memories in Alzheimer’s disease: the effect of event-specific stimuli. Poster session presented at International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition 17, Tokyo, Japan.
Sawatzki, D. & Thomsen, D. K. (2023). Narrative Work Identity and Resilience among Teachers: A study in progress. Poster session presented at Special Interest Conference on Narrative Identity: Insights From Research to Practice, Lille, France.
Kara, D. & Bohn, A. (2023). Personal Future Projections of Immigrants: What is the Effect of Remembering the Past?. Poster session presented at Special Interest Conference on Narrative Identity: Insights From Research to Practice, Lille, France.
Rasmussen, K. W. & Berntsen, D. (2023). Remembering a life: an examination of open-ended life stories and the reminiscence bump in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Memory, 31(4), 457-473. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2023.2169466
Roderer, A. V., Bohn, A. & Watson, L. A. (2023). Retrospective future thinking: Keeping distant personal future events mentally close. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(8), 1817-1829. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218221126471
Roderer, A. V. & Bohn, A. (2023). Retrospective future thinking as a novel method to imagine the future: Remembering autobiographical events from the perspective of the future self. Memory, 31(1), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2022.2120997
Matsumoto, N., Watson, L. A. & Kuratomi, K. (2023). Schema-driven involuntary categoric memory in depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 47(1), 52-68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-022-10329-6
Zaragoza Scherman, A., Salgado, S., Shao, Z. & Berntsen, D. (2023). Self- and other-focused autobiographical memories of life story events across cultures. Memory, 31(10), 1387-1401. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2023.2267226
Öner, S. & Watson, L. A. (2022). Age differences in remembering the pandemic: Findings from 15 countries. Poster session presented at Autobiographical Memory in Ageing and Dementia, Aarhus.
Rasmussen, K. W. & Berntsen, D. (2022). Deficient semantic knowledge of the life course-Examining the cultural life script in Alzheimer's disease. Memory & Cognition, 50(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01202-0
Watson, L. A., Lee, L. & O'Mahen, H. (2022). Imagining the Autobiographical Self Across Life Transitions: When does Specificity or Narrative Coherence Predict Later Mental Health?. Abstract from Autobiographical Memory and Psychopathology Meeting.
Roderer, A. V., Watson, L. A. & Bohn, A. (2022). Looking back to the future: Effect of future thinking perspective on characteristics of autobiographical future events. Poster session presented at Autobiographical Memory in Aging and Dementia, Aarhus.
Zaragoza Scherman, A., Salgado, S., Zosh, J. M., Bluck, S. & Berntsen, D. (2022). Memories of childhood and adulthood play: Effects of recall on play attitudes and purchase intent. Poster session presented at Autobiographical Memory in Ageing and Dementia, Aarhus, Denmark.
Rasmussen, K. W. (2022). Remembering a Life: Open-Ended Life Stories and the Cultural Life Script in Alzheimer’s Disease. Abstract from Autobiographical Memory in Ageing and Dementia, Aarhus.
Roderer, A. V., Watson, L. A. & Bohn, A. (2022). Remembering future life goals: Retrospective future thinking affects life goal qualities. Acta Psychologica, 226, Article 103582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103582
Berntsen, D. & Rasmussen, K. W. (2022). Reminiscens. In L. Øksnebjerg, S. G. Hasselbalch, A. Lolk & B. Vølund (Eds.), Forstå demens (3. ed., pp. 209-214). Hans Reitzels Forlag.
Research projects
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BOLD MINDS: Identity and emotional life in youth - read more (in Danish): https://psy.au.dk/bold-minds
- Tattoos as expressions of autobiographical memories and identity, in collaboration with Kristina Klug (PI), Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Germany), https://www.goethe-university-frankfurt.de/57330083/Curriculum_Vitae; Christin Camia, Zayed University (United Arab Emirates) and Melissa Alle, University of Lille (France)
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NOST-Ad-GIA: A Research Programme on Nostalgia Advertising, Consumer Behaviour, and Autobiographical Memory (Alejandra Zaragoza Scherman)
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Nostalgia Advertising and Autobiographical Memory. A Review.
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Recalling Autobiographical Memories of Childhood and Adulthood Play as a Mnemonic Nostalgia Intervention: Effects on Parental Attitudes towards Play, Purchase Intent of Toys and Games, and Intention to Play, in collaboration with Sinué Salgado, Aarhus University (DK), Jennifer Zosh, University of Pennsylvania (USA), Susan Bluck, University of Florida (USA) and Dorthe Berntsen, Aarhus University (DK)
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The Role of Nostalgia Advertising and Autobiographical Memories in Fostering Parent-Child Play, in collaboration with Mary Kate Koch, Gonzaga University (USA) and Susan Bluck, University of Florida (USA)
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What Makes You Feel Nostalgic? A Survey of Danish University Students, in collaboration with Stephan Pieter Smuts, Aarhus University
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Nostalgia Advertising and Cultural Life Scripts in Danish TV Commercials, in collaboration with Simone Balocco, University of Barcelona (Spain)
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Identity and Resilience at Work (Dela Sawatzki) In my PhD project I investigate the relation between identity and resilience at work. I use the Work Life Story interview to understand people's narrative work identity. I focus mainly on teachers in Germany and the school as a work environment. I use quantitative as well as qualitative methods in my study and contribute to resilience research by applying a narrative identity perspective.
Collaboration
Research collaboration
- Alejandra Zaragoza Scherman works as a research consultant with EarthLab, what is an organisation that works with sustainable behaviour and with HandleMod, which is an organisation that offers workshops and courses on behaviour change to businesses, organisations and educational institutions.
- Collaborator Noboru Matsumoto (Shinshu University, Japan) - Mechanisms of autobiographical memory in depression