Journal of Research in Personality 53 (2014) 103–111

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Research in Personality
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrp

Remembering events related to close relationships, self-growth,and helping others: Intrinsic autobiographical memories, needsatisfaction, and well-being
Natasha Lekes a,⇑, Valérie Guilbault b, Frederick L. Philippe b, Iliane Houle bab

Division of Psychology and Human Development, University of Maine at Farmington, United States
Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

a r t i c l e

i n f oArticle history:
Available online 22 September 2014
Keywords:
Intrinsic memories
Autobiographical memories
Need satisfaction
Well-being
Aspiration Index
Self-determination theorya b s t r a c t
The present research examined the relationships between memories with intrinsic versus non-intrinsic
themes, need satisfaction, and well-being. In Study 1, participants (n = 244) who included intrinsic
themes when asked to describe an autobiographical memory reported greater well-being thanparticipants who did not. The degree of need satisfaction characterizing these memories mediated therelationship between intrinsic memories and well-being. In Study 2, participants (n = 126) were assigned
to describe a memory characterized by intrinsic (e.g., helping others) or extrinsic (e.g., popularity) values.
Need satisfaction characterizing the intrinsic, but not extrinsic, memories, was associated with wellbeing. Describing an intrinsic (but not an extrinsic) memory positively increased situational well-being.
Need satisfaction in the intrinsic memories predicted the subsequent increase in well-being.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Speciﬁc life experiences inﬂuence people not only through theactual events, but also through the memories that they generate.
Important life experiences become encoded as autobiographicalmemories and remain associated with certain cognitions andemotions experienced during the initial event (Conway, 2008;
Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). These autobiographical memories are connected to identity and characterized by affective intensity, vividness, repetitiveness, linkage to other memories, andenduring concerns or conﬂicts (Singer & Salovey, 1993). As such,people’s autobiographical memories can shed light on the meaningthat they make of their lives (McAdams, 2001) and the content andthemes of autobiographical memories can be analyzed to inform
people’s psychological adjustment and well-being (Adler &Poulin, 2009; Blagov & Singer, 2004; Lilgendahl & McAdams,2011). Previous research has demonstrated that the events weremember have an impact on our well-being through their affective valence (Bernsten, Rubin, & Siegler, 2011), themes of redemption, contamination (Adler & Poulin, 2009; McAdams, Reynolds,
Lewis, Patten, & Bowman, 2001), agency and communion (Adler,
Skalina, & McAdams, 2008; Bauer & McAdams, 2004), and whether
they satisfy our basic psychological needs (Philippe, Koestner,⇑ Corresponding author. Fax: +1 207 778 7378.
E-mail address: natasha.lekes@maine.edu (N. Lekes).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2014.09.002
0092-6566/Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Beaulieu-Pelletier, & Lecours, 2011), among other factors. In thispaper, we examined whether memory content linked to different
types of values (intrinsic, non-intrinsic, extrinsic) relate differently
to well-being and whether the degree to which these memories areneed-satisfying can account for the relationship between memory
content and well-being.
Coding autobiographical memories has allowed researchers to
examine the relationship between memory content and wellbeing. Using Thorne and McLean’s (2001) scoring system to categorize life events, researchers found that memories of relationshipdisruption (break-ups, divorce, separation, interpersonal conﬂict)
are associated with the amount of distress that individuals experience (Blagov & Singer, 2004). Researchers have analyzed memories
for themes of contamination, in which people describe positive
events turning bad, and redemption, in which negative events
become positive, and found that they relate differently to wellbeing (McAdams et al., 2001). Among college students and midlife
adults (35–65), redemption sequences were associated with wellbeing, whereas contamination sequences predicted lower wellbeing among midlife adults. Redemptive themes were particularly
important for the well-being of emerging adults, compared to older
adults (McLean & Lilgendahl, 2008). Well-being was also associated with greater closure and redemption themes among adults
writing about the 9/11 terrorist attacks (Adler & Poulin, 2009).
Similarly, coherent positive resolution of difﬁcult life experiences

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N. Lekes et al. / Journal of Research in Personality 53 (2014) 103–111

was related to life satisfaction through increasing ego-resiliency
among women in midlife (Pals, 2006).
Although researchers have looked at motives within memories(e.g., McAdams, Hoffman, Day, & Mansﬁeld, 1996; Woike & Polo,
2001) and different value orientations are implicit in previous
research examining autobiographical memory (e.g., Thorne &Michaelieu, 1996), little research has speciﬁcally examined different types of values within memories. This is surprising given thatmemories have been shown to contribute to people’s identity(Singer & Salovey, 1993) and values are an important aspect ofidentity (Hitlin, 2003). Self-determination theory’s distinction
between intrinsic and extrinsic values provides an interesting
framework for analyzing memory content because a large bodyof research has shown that the two types of values are differentially related to people’s well-being and quality of life (seeKasser, 2002; Lekes, 2012 for reviews). However, only two studies
to our knowledge (Bauer & McAdams, 2004; Bauer, McAdams, &Sakaeda, 2005) have examined memories and well-being in thismanner.
Drawing from humanistic theories (Maslow, 1954; Rogers,1964), self-determination theory distinguishes between intrinsic
values, which are thought to be inherently satisfying and congruent with basic psychological needs, and extrinsic values, which
tend to be engaged in as a means to an end and depend on the contingent reaction of others (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Kasser, 2002).
Researchers have conﬁrmed the categorization of values into
intrinsic and extrinsic pursuits through factor analyses (Kasser &Ryan, 1996), structural equation modeling (Lekes, Gingras,
Philippe, Koestner, & Fang, 2010), and multidimensional scaling
analyses (Grouzet et al., 2005). Intrinsic values for selfdevelopment, close relationships, and helping others tend to group
together and oppose extrinsic values for ﬁnancial success, status or
popularity, and an attractive image, which also tend to group
together.
Researchers have demonstrated that the intrinsic versus extrinsic content of goals and values have an impact on people’s wellbeing and quality of life. When individuals place greater priority
on intrinsic values, for self-development, close relationships, andhelping their community relative to extrinsic values for wealth,status, and image, they experience greater well-being (Kasser,
2002; Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996). Importantly, this relationshiphas also been demonstrated experimentally. Compared to participants who wrote about their daily activities, participants randomly
assigned to reﬂect on intrinsic values experienced an immediate
gain in well-being (Lekes, Hope, Gouveia, Koestner, & Philippe,2012). Four-weeks later, the more that they had engaged in reﬂecting on their intrinsic values, the greater their well-being. Other
experimental evidence showed that when participants achievedgoals related to intrinsic concerns, they experienced increases intheir well-being (Sheldon, Gunz, Nichols, & Ferguson, 2010). In
contrast, achieving goals related to extrinsic concerns wasunrelated to changes in well-being.
Bauer and his colleagues have used the framework of intrinsic
versus extrinsic concerns in the study of autobiographicalmemories. They examined people’s stories of changes in careerand religion and found that intrinsic themes were associated withsocial–emotional well-being (Bauer & McAdams, 2004). In two further studies, Bauer et al. (2005) analyzed the autobiographicalmemories of college students and adults for themes of intrinsic
concerns. In both samples of students and adults, they found thatparticipants’ well-being was related to the degree to which theydescribed intrinsic memories when asked about a high point, lowpoint, and a turning point in life. Intrinsic memories highlighted
growth on personal, relational and societal levels. This work raises
the following question: What is it about intrinsic memories that
account for their association with well-being?

Self-determination theory posits that intrinsic versus extrinsic
values are related to well-being through the degree to which theysatisfy people’s psychological needs (Kasser, 2002). To be psychologically healthy, a person needs to feel effective and efﬁcacious(competent), volitional and authentic (autonomous), andconnected and cared for by others and caring for others in turn(related). In support of self-determination theory, researchers
found that the relationship between well-being and intrinsic andextrinsic values is mediated by whether a person’s needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness are satisﬁed (Niemiec, Ryan, &Deci, 2009). Therefore, the relationship between intrinsic memories and well-being may be due to the degree to which these memories satisfy a person’s needs. Recent research has highlighted theimportance of need satisfaction in autobiographical memories,
which predicts people’s well-being over time (Philippe, Koestner,
Beaulieu-Pelletier, Lecours, & Lekes, 2012; Philippe et al., 2011).
We extend previous research in several ways. First, we build on
recent research demonstrating the importance of need-satisfaction
in autobiographical memories (Philippe et al., 2011) in order toexamine whether need satisfaction accounts for the relationshipbetween intrinsic memories and well-being, found by Bauer et al.
(2005). Second, we test the inﬂuence of intrinsic versus extrinsic
memories on well-being using an experimental design. While alarge body of research has shown that the degree to which people
prioritize intrinsic over extrinsic concerns is associated with wellbeing (see Kasser, 2002; Lekes, 2012 for reviews), fewer studies
have demonstrated this relationship experimentally (see Sheldon
et al., 2010; Lekes et al., 2012 for exceptions). Importantly weextend the work of Bauer and his colleagues (Bauer & McAdams,
2004; Bauer et al., 2005) by examining whether it is the need-satisfying nature of intrinsic memories that more directly contributes
to people’s well-being.
2. Study 1
With study 1, our aim was to examine the values underlying
autobiographical memories and their relationship with well-being.
We hypothesized that individuals who spontaneously described an
autobiographical memory related to intrinsic values would report
greater general well-being and adjustment, compared to individuals who described a memory related either to non-intrinsic or
extrinsic themes. We further expected need satisfaction inmemories to account for the relationship between intrinsic
memories and well-being. Based on past studies examining thedistinction between intrinsic and non-intrinsic memories on
well-being (e.g., Bauer et al., 2005), we expected medium effectsizes. The sample size of Study 1 was sufﬁciently large to detectsuch effects at an alpha of .05 and a power of .80.
2.1. Method
2.1.1. Participants and procedure
The sample was made up of 244 undergraduate students (147
women, 97 men) attending a Canadian university. Their mean
age was 29.6 years (SD = 9.32 years). Participants completed an
online questionnaire about personality and memory, which
included a memory description, and measures of well-being,
psychological adjustment, and need satisfaction, described below.
Participants were asked to report their well-being and adjustment before describing an autobiographical memory so that thedescription did not affect their well-being ratings. Following thememory description, they evaluated their need satisfaction in thememory. These data were previously used to examine need satisfaction in autobiographical memories (Philippe et al., 2011, Study
1). For the present study, participants’ memories were coded forN. Lekes et al. / Journal of Research in Personality 53 (2014) 103–111

themes of intrinsic and extrinsic values. The data were analyzed inrelation to intrinsic versus non-intrinsic themes, and therefore
there is no overlap with the results presented in Philippe et al.
(2011).1 As remuneration, participants were entered in a drawing
for one of four prizes of $125.
2.1.1.1. Autobiographical memory. As described in Philippe et al.
(2011), instructions were derived from past research on self-deﬁning memories (Singer & Salovey, 1993; Sutin & Robins, 2005). Participants were asked to describe in detail:a personal memory of an event that occurred at least one year
ago which was signiﬁcant (important) for you. This memory
should reﬂect your identity or who you are and should reveal
something about how you perceive yourself generally. Choose
a memory that often comes to your mind. This memory canbe either positive, negative, or both.

2.1.2. Measures
The measures are described below. In Philippe et al. (2011),
hedonic well-being (life satisfaction), eudaimonic well-being(self-acceptance, purpose in life, and personal growth scales, Ryff
& Keyes, 1995) and an index of psychological adjustment wereused to assess well-being. In the present study, eudaimonic wellbeing was not included due to its similarity to the construct of
intrinsic values.
2.1.2.1. Life satisfaction. The 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale(Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Grifﬁn, 1985) was used. Cronbach’s
alpha coefﬁcient was .85.
2.1.2.2. Psychological adjustment. As described in Philippe et al.
(2011), psychological adjustment was assessed through the useof three measures. A one-item measure of self-esteem (Robins,
Hendin, & Trzesniewski, 2001), three items (a = .61) from the Beck
Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh,1961), and six items (a = .83) from the Beck Anxiety Inventory
measuring the subjective state of anxiety (see Osman, Kopper,
Barrios, Osman, & Wade, 1997). All these items were transformedin z scores and averaged to create a psychological adjustment
index for which the alpha was .85.
2.1.2.3. Need satisfaction in the memory. Following the descriptionof the memory, each participant rated the level of psychologicalneed satisfaction they experienced during the event of their memory on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 3 (Strongly disagree) to+3 (Strongly agree) with 0 representing ‘‘Do not agree nor disagree
or not applicable’’ – this latter option indicating that there was anequal level of both need satisfaction and need thwarting in theevent or that the event was not characterized by either needthwarting or need satisfaction. They were provided with two items
assessing each of the three psychological needs. Sample items
include ‘‘I felt free to do things and to think how I wanted’’ (autonomy), ‘‘I felt skillful or capable’’ (competence), and ‘‘I felt connected
to one or more people’’ (relatedness). Intercorrelations between
the items of autonomy, competence, and relatedness were .42,
.74, and .51, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha for the measure of needsatisfaction was .82. The self-report measure of need satisfaction in
the memory was shown to correlate highly with the same measure
1
Philippe et al. (2011) coded memories for intrinsic themes based on Bauer et al.
(2005) in order to examine incremental validity only. In the present study, a more
extensive coding scheme was used (see description of coding under measures).
Philippe et al. (2011) examined intrinsic memories only and did not examine whether
need satisfaction mediates the relationship between intrinsic memories andwell-being.

105

coded by judges from the participants’ memory narratives (r = .70).
Results in the current study were virtually the same using thecoded or self-reported measure. Therefore, we report on the selfreported data only, given that it is the typical measure of need satisfaction in memories (e.g., Philippe, Koestner, & Lekes, 2013;
Philippe et al., 2012).
2.1.2.4. Intrinsic and extrinsic memory. Memories were coded forthe presence of intrinsic and extrinsic values by two researchers.
The coders, familiar with self-determination theory and blind to
the participants’ well-being ratings, reviewed the content of eachmemory, identifying whether they were characterized by intrinsic
and extrinsic values. The judges were informed they could code amemory as both intrinsic and extrinsic or non-intrinsic and nonextrinsic if applicable. Intrinsic and extrinsic themes were basedon the Aspiration Index (Kasser & Ryan, 1996), a 32-item questionnaire assessing intrinsic and extrinsic values and on self-determination theory’s framework of values (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Coders
used the items from the Aspiration Index as examples as well as
their background knowledge of self-determination theory to guidethe coding. They were also provided with speciﬁc instructions onwhat constituted an intrinsic theme. For example, describing agood time spent with a friend was not sufﬁcient to be coded as
intrinsic. To be coded as intrinsic, the focus had to be on the development of a new or enduring friendship.
Intrinsic themes included self-acceptance, a better understanding of oneself, or the acceptance of something about oneself, ﬁnding meaning in one’s life, learning something new or deepening
one’s knowledge about something, helping an individual, a groupof people or a community, and developing an intimate relationship(friendship or romantic). Examples of memories coded with intrinsic themes include the following excerpts from the memories ofthree participants: ‘‘As a retired police ofﬁcer, I had the privilege of volunteering for
the Canadian Organ Donors Association as a carrier.’’ ‘‘I was starting a new internship. I had many mixed emotions. I
felt excited but at the same time I was very stressed. I decided
to dive in and apply myself, to stop worrying, that I was going to
go regardless and that I should just dive in. In the end, coming
home, I felt happy with my ﬁrst day.’’ ‘‘When my daughter was born, my partner had difﬁculty breastfeeding. During a month and a half, we had to wake every twohours (24 h per day). Despite the inconvenience, I felt useful
because I was supporting my daughter and my partner. In fact,
these efforts transformed into positive thoughts, into a feelingof accomplishment, and in a profound desire to form a strong
family nucleus.’’
Extrinsic themes included seeking social recognition from one ormore people or following the reception of a prize, popularity, ﬁnancial success or gains, or the recognition of one’s physical attractiveness. As an example, the following memory was coded as extrinsic:‘‘I won a gold medal at the Quebec games. I was named team captainand the coach put a lot of pressure on me. In the end I performed
well and made a name for myself in the elite world of sports.’’
The following two participant responses are examples of memories coded as nonintrinsic/nonextrinsic. In each case, there is not aclear intrinsic or extrinsic theme. Personal development may be
involved, but it is not explicitly described or clear from the narrative.
 ‘‘I received the letter that I had been accepted to university. I
was happy because I had been scared of not being acceptedand during the waiting period I questioned what I would do if
I weren’t accepted and whether I would one day be able to have
my chosen profession.’’106

N. Lekes et al. / Journal of Research in Personality 53 (2014) 103–111

Table 1Results of t-tests on intrinsic and non-intrinsic memories: Study 1.
Variable

Need satisfaction
AutonomyCompetence
Relatedness
Life satisfaction
Psychological adjustment

Intrinsic memories

Non-intrinsic memories

M

SD

1.89
1.53
2.07
2.08
5.32
0.21

1.03
1.51
1.28
1.16
1.06
0.60

M
0.41
0.30
0.31
0.64
4.56
0.14

t(242)

p

8.74
5.66
7.92
6.89
4.95
3.44

<.001
<.001
<.001
<.001
<.001
<.001

SD
1.48
1.79
1.97
1.88
1.26
0.89

Note. Intrinsic memories, n = 141; non-intrinsic memories, n = 103.

 ‘‘Four years ago, I bought a duplex, on my own. The house was
empty so I took a month to do renovations. I signed at thenotary’s ofﬁce on Wednesday October 1 and I remember the
moment that I entered the house, on my own that morning.
All of a sudden I realized how important a commitment it was.’’Inter-judge reliability (kappas) was k = .81 for intrinsic memories and k = .82 for extrinsic memories. Disagreements were discussed with the third author (who was not one of the twojudges) and resolved.

2.2. Results
A total of 103 participants (42.2%) reported intrinsic memories(i.e. memories with intrinsic themes), whereas 141 (57.8%)
described non-intrinsic memories, 10 of whom (4.1% of the total
sample) reported extrinsic memories. Moreover, eight of theseten participants also described intrinsic themes along their extrinsic concerns. Given the low number of participants who described
exclusively extrinsic memories, we analyzed our results in terms of
intrinsic versus non-intrinsic memories. These results suggest thatmost people’s self-deﬁning memories do not tend to focus on
extrinsic concerns.
We conducted a set of t-tests to examine if there were differences between participants describing intrinsic versus non-intrinsic memories. Each t-test evaluated the differences on thefollowing variables: autonomy, competence, and relatedness, total
score of need satisfaction, life satisfaction, and psychologicaladjustment. Results of these analyses are shown in Table 1.2 Participants who spontaneously described an intrinsic memory scoredhigher on all psychological needs and on life satisfaction and psychological adjustment (as compared to participants who did notdescribe a memory with an intrinsic-related theme).
Next, correlations were conducted to examine the relationshipbetween need satisfaction and well-being for the participants
who had described an intrinsic memory. Need satisfaction in
intrinsic memories was positively correlated with life satisfaction(r = .23, p < .05) and psychological adjustment (r = .21, p < .05). Correlations between need satisfaction and well-being for participants
who described a non-intrinsic memory also revealed to be signiﬁcant, rs = .23 and .30, ps < .05 for life satisfaction and psychologicaladjustment, respectively. Taken together, these results revealed
that intrinsic memories are characterized by greater need satisfaction than non-intrinsic memories, but that even at lower levels,need satisfaction in non-intrinsic memories can still contribute towell-being (i.e., slightly need satisfying memories will contributeto greater well-being, whereas need thwarting will detract fromwell-being).
2
An anonymous reviewer suggested that we control for neuroticism, given that
this measure is available from the Philippe et al. (2011) dataset. Controlling for thatvariable in the analyses did not alter the results.

We then examined the mediation effect of need satisfaction in
intrinsic memories on well-being. First, we conducted a hierarchical regression with life satisfaction as the dependent variable using
memory themes (intrinsic = 1; non-intrinsic = 0) at Step 1 andmemory need satisfaction at Step 2. At Step 1, intrinsic memories
were signiﬁcantly associated with life satisfaction (b = .30
p < .001). At Step 2, need satisfaction was a signiﬁcant predictorof life satisfaction (b = .25, p < .001). In addition, the beta coefﬁcient of intrinsic memories was signiﬁcantly lowered by the inclusion of need satisfaction (b = .18, p < .001). Bootstrapping analysis
revealed that the 95% conﬁdence interval [.123; .499] did notinclude zero, thus suggesting that the indirect effect was signiﬁcant. Taken together those ﬁndings suggest that need satisfaction
partially mediated the effect of the relationship between intrinsic
memories and life satisfaction.
A second hierarchical regression was conducted on psychological adjustment using the same variables as above in each step.
Again, intrinsic memories were signiﬁcantly associated withpsychological adjustment (b = .21, p < .01) at Step 1. At Step 2, needsatisfaction was positively and signiﬁcantly associated withpsychological adjustment (b = .31, p < .001), whereas intrinsic
memories were no longer signiﬁcant (b = .06, n.s.). Bootstrapping
analysis again revealed that the 95% conﬁdence interval [.161;.540] did not include zero, thus suggesting that the indirect effectwas signiﬁcant and that memory need satisfaction mediated therelationship between intrinsic memories and psychologicaladjustment.
2.3. Brief discussion
Study 1 demonstrated that people who spontaneously include
intrinsic themes of intimate relationships, helping their community, and self-development, experience greater well-being compared to people who do not include such themes. We further
found that the satisfaction of three psychological needs mediatedthe relationship between intrinsic memories and well-being. However, need satisfaction did not fully mediate the relationshipbetween intrinsic memories and life satisfaction, suggesting that
other memory components may be involved in the relationship.
Furthermore, the study design was correlational.
3. Study 2
Study 2 extends Study 1 in two ways. First, we use an experimental design to test whether remembering an event related tointrinsic values inﬂuences situational well-being compared toremembering an event related to extrinsic values. Second, Study
1 revealed that most people do not spontaneously describe extrinsic memories—only intrinsic and non-intrinsic memories. In Study
2, we modiﬁed our memory instructions to speciﬁcally target
intrinsic or extrinsic memories. Researchers have suggested thathappier people tend to frame their memories in terms of intrinsic

N. Lekes et al. / Journal of Research in Personality 53 (2014) 103–111

themes related to personal, relational, and societal growth (Baueret al., 2005). We wanted to test whether an intrinsic memory canincrease well-being, regardless of a person’s general well-being.
Can a person experience beneﬁts to their well-being dependingon whether they are asked to describe an intrinsic versus an
extrinsic memory? We further wanted to examine whether needsatisfaction accounted for the relationship between intrinsic
memories and well-being and whether other memory components
are involved.
We had three main hypotheses. First, based on selfdetermination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), we hypothesized thatneed satisfaction in intrinsic memories, but not in extrinsic memories, would correlate with general well-being, thereby extending
the results of Study 1. While individuals may feel that memories
with extrinsic themes satisfy their needs, for example feeling competent after winning a prize or feeling some relatedness whenbeing recognized as popular, they depend on the contingent
reaction of another (Kasser, 2002), which is not expected to relate
to well-being. Second, we expected that individuals randomly
assigned to write about a memory related to an intrinsic theme
would experience greater situational well-being following theirdescription than those assigned to write about a memory related
to an extrinsic theme. Finally, we further expected that thisincrease in well-being following the description of an intrinsic
memory would be predicted by the degree to which individuals
felt that their basic psychological needs were satisﬁed during theevent of the intrinsic memory that they described. Given that noprior study had examined the effect of describing an intrinsic
versus extrinsic memory on situational well-being, a small effectsize (eta squared = .01) was expected. The minimum sample sizefor the detection of such a small effect size within a 2  2 factorial
ANOVA with two repeated measures at an alpha of .05 and a powerof .80 is n = 112.
3.1. Method
3.1.1. Participants and procedure
Participants who took part in this study were 123 undergraduate students (105 women, 21 men) from a Canadian university.
Their mean age was 24.54 years (SD = 6.3 years). Participants were
contacted through their university e-mail and invited to participate in an online study about memory. As an incentive, they wereentered in a drawing for one of three prizes of 125$. They were
informed that the questionnaire was on a secure Web site andwere assured that their responses would remain anonymous andconﬁdential. Participants were randomly assigned to describe amemory characterized by either intrinsic (n = 60) or extrinsic values (n = 63). First, participants completed a baseline measure ofvitality, the Aspiration Index and a well-being measure. These
measures were completed before describing the autobiographicalmemory so that the description did not affect the well-being
ratings. Second, based on prompts, participants described either
an intrinsic or an extrinsic memory (random assignment). Following the memory description, participants evaluated their needsatisfaction in the memory and the characteristics of the memory,
and ﬁnally rated their vitality a second time.
3.2. Measures
3.2.1. Intrinsic and extrinsic values
A shortened version of the Aspiration Index (Kasser & Ryan,
1996) used in other research (Lekes, Joussemet, Koestner, Taylor,& Gingras, 2011) served to measure participants’ intrinsic andextrinsic values. Participants were instructed to rate the importance of 12 values on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = not at all,
7 = totally). Intrinsic values included: ‘to have committed, intimate

107

relationships’, ‘to work for the betterment of society’, and ‘to growand learn new things’. Extrinsic values included: ‘to be admired bylots of different people’, ‘to be ﬁnancially successful’, and ‘to havean image that others ﬁnd appealing’. An intrinsic values score
was created by averaging the six items pertaining to intrinsic
values (a = .69). The other half of the items were averaged to forma score of extrinsic values (a = .83).
3.2.1.1. General well-being. As in Study 1, we used the Satisfaction
with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Grifﬁn, 1985) to measure general well-being. The Cronbach’s alpha coefﬁcient was .85.
3.2.1.2. Vitality pre- and post-description. The state level version of
the Subjective Vitality Scale (Ryan & Frederick, 1997) was used
to assess well-being before and after describing their memory. A
measure of vitality was used because well-being was assessed
twice in a short time span and this measure is more sensitive tosubtle changes in situational well-being, as compared to a measureof life satisfaction for instance (for a similar rationale, see Philippe
et al., 2012, Study 3). Participants were instructed to respond to six
items as a function of how they felt at the moment. A sample itemis ‘‘Currently, I feel alive and full of life’’. For each item, participants
were asked to move a slider and select a point along a linear continuum in which one end was labeled ‘‘Totally disagree’’ and theother ‘‘Totally agree’’. Their response was given a value between 0
and 100. This value was hidden from the participants, but wasrecorded by the computer. Such a scale was used in order tocapture subtle subjective changes in vitality. Cronbach’s alphacoefﬁcient for vitality levels at pre-description was .93 and .94 at
post-description.
3.2.1.3. Autobiographical memory. Participants were randomly
assigned to either the intrinsic memory group or the extrinsic memory group. Participants from both groups were instructed todescribe a memory. They were informed that the memory could
be either positive, negative or both. They were encouraged to choose
a memory that often came to mind and that was at least six months
old. They were instructed not to take too much time to think of theperfect memory, but rather to choose one that spontaneously cameto mind. All participants were asked to ‘‘describe in detail a personal
memory of a speciﬁc event or a signiﬁcant moment during which
they had experienced or obtained things such as. . .’’. The intrinsic
group was provided with the following examples:
a better understanding of yourself; acceptance of something
about yourself; ﬁnding meaning in your life; learning something new or deepening your knowledge about something;helping someone, a group or a community; developing an
intimate friendship or romantic relationship with someone.
The extrinsic group was provided with the following examples:social recognition from one or more people or after receiving a
prize; popularity; a ﬁnancial gain (whether through working,winning a prize, or receiving money as a gift); succeeding inmaking a good impression toward one or more people; being
recognized for your physical attractiveness.
The memories were subsequently coded as intrinsic or extrinsic
by independent judges (blind to assigned condition), conﬁrmingthat all participants understood the instructions and were able todescribe either an intrinsic or an extrinsic memory, depending on
the group they were assigned to. The following are excerpts ofmemories from two participants in the intrinsic group: ‘‘I went winter camping at the top of a mountain last winter. I
realized how much energy I get from the mountains and how
happy and free I feel when I am out in nature. In that moment

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I discovered that I can ﬁnd happiness in activities, far from thecity, far from money, far from the stress of school. I shared thismoment with someone who is now my boyfriend. We share thispassion and it’s what brings us close and united. For me, themountain represents liberty and I need it! Through this expedition, I realized to what extent being out in nature is important
to me and I have made it a priority.’’ ‘‘About 6 months ago, I had a difﬁcult break-up. About twomonths later, at a birthday celebration, a friend talked to me
about her own break-up in positive terms, because it allowed
her to evolve differently in life, etc. I think about this conversation often, since from that moment I began to feel that I could
take on projects as I had done before, and that one day I would
meet someone I was attracted to, by involving myself in projects that I’m passionate about. I renewed my social activism
after this dinner.’’
The following are excerpts of memories from two participantsin the extrinsic group: ‘‘When I was in high school, I won the personality prize three
years in a row. I remember that each year several people cameand told me that they were voting for me and I didn’t believe it
really. I didn’t think I would win the prize. When they
announced my name at the Gala, I couldn’t believe it. I was
happy to see that people appreciated me but I didn’t think I
deserved it. It gave me a lot of conﬁdence. I earned a chequeof 50 dollars each time and each year my name was inscribedon a plaque that hung in the hall in front on the school chapel.
I was very proud of myself.’’ ‘‘I was at a happy hour in the school café. I was chatting with aguy, an acquaintance who I found attractive. During our chat, hetold me that he found me super pretty. I remember that heseemed shy, which didn’t necessarily correspond to his personality. I felt doubly ﬂattered that he found me attractive since I
thought the same thing about him. I looked at him, smiled,and said ‘thank you.’ This surprised me because I usually did
not have conﬁdence in my physical appearance. But this time
I was inclined to accept the compliment rather than contest it.’’3.2.1.4. Need satisfaction in the memory. Following the descriptionof the memory, each participant was instructed to rate the levelof psychological need satisfaction experienced when the event of
the memory occurred using the same items used in Study 1. Items
were averaged in an index score labeled need satisfaction in thememory (a = .87).
3.2.1.5. Memory characteristics. Participants were asked to rate thevividness (‘‘the memory of this event is still vivid and detailed in
my mind’’), the signiﬁcance (‘‘this event was important/signiﬁcant
for me’’), the degree to which the memory recurs (‘‘I have often
thought about this event’’), how often they had shared it (‘‘I haveoften talked about this event to other people’’) and the frequency
of involuntary recall (‘‘this memory has come spontaneously to
my mind in the past and I did not make any efforts for it to doso). The ﬁrst four items were drawn from the Memory Quality
Questionnaire (Alea & Bluck, 2007), whereas the ﬁfth was takenfrom Rasmussen and Bernsten (2009). Participants were asked torate all memory characteristics on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (totally). Two categories of memory characteristics were constructed based on Alea & Bluck’s (2007) andBaron and Bluck’s (2009) factor analyses. Personal signiﬁcanceincluded vividness and signiﬁcance, and Rehearsal was represented
by rehearsal, sharing, and involuntary recall. For the personal signiﬁcance category, the inter-item correlation was .45, p < .001,

and the inter-item correlations for the rehearsal category ranged
from .26, p < .01 to .54, p < .001. Participants were also asked torate the degree to which their memory was positive or negativeon a scale ranging from 3 (very negative) to +3 (very positive).
4. Results
There were no signiﬁcant differences between the two experimental groups (intrinsic versus extrinsic memories) on intrinsic
and extrinsic values or on the well-being measures (life satisfaction and vitality Time 1). However, the two groups did differ onmemory characteristics. Participants in the intrinsic group
described memories that were more signiﬁcant (M = 6.25 versus
M = 5.87, t[121] = 2.45 p < .01) and more rehearsed (M = 5.34 versus M = 4.71, t[121] = 2.88, p < .01) than those in the extrinsic
group. There were no differences between the two groups onvalence (t[121] = 1.72, ns) and need satisfaction (t[121] = 0.77,
ns). This latter ﬁnding is interesting given that we found signiﬁcantdifferences between intrinsic and non-intrinsic memories in Study
1. In line with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000;
Kasser & Ryan, 1996), extrinsic values may provide some sense ofsatisfaction, but one that is compensatory and that does not fuelwell-being.
To verify that postulate, hierarchical regression analyses wereconducted on each group (intrinsic memory, extrinsic memory)
to examine the association between need satisfaction and life satisfaction while controlling for age, gender, values, and other memory characteristics. Each regression was divided in two steps. At
Step 1, age, gender, intrinsic values, extrinsic values, personal
signiﬁcance of the memory and rehearsal of the memory wereentered. At Step 2, need satisfaction in the memory was includedin the equation. The results of these regressions on life satisfaction
are shown in Table 2. The ﬁrst hierarchical regression was conducted on the intrinsic memory group. At Step 1, gender, general
intrinsic values and memory signiﬁcance were signiﬁcantly associated with life satisfaction, R2 = .51, F(7, 52) = 7.65, p < .001. At Step2, need satisfaction signiﬁcantly predicted life satisfaction,
Rchange2 = .06, F(1, 51) = 6.69, p < .05. Overall, these results indicatethat need satisfaction in intrinsic memories explains a signiﬁcantand unique part of the variance of life satisfaction, over and above
general values and other memory characteristics.
Next, a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted on the
extrinsic memory group to examine the association between needsatisfaction in extrinsic memories and life satisfaction. Each variable was entered in the same steps as the preceding regression.
The regression analysis examined the predictive value of need satisfaction on life satisfaction and showed that gender and general
extrinsic values were negatively associated with life satisfaction
at Step 1, R2 = .33, F(7, 55) = 3.84, p < .01. Need satisfaction was
unrelated to life satisfaction, Rchange2 = .02, F(1, 54) = 1.24, ns. These
results indicate that need satisfaction in extrinsic memories was
not associated with life satisfaction. Taken together, the present
ﬁndings suggest that only need satisfaction in intrinsic memories
contributes to well-being.
To examine if the description of an intrinsic or extrinsic
memory would have an immediate effect on situational vitality,
we conducted a repeated-measures ANOVA. Gender and memory
group were modeled as between-subject variables and the levelsof vitality pre- and post-description served as within-subject variables. The plan was a 2 (memory group: intrinsic versus extrinsic)
X 2 (gender: males versus females) X 2 (vitality: pre and post measures). Results showed that the level of reported vitality was significantly different between the pre- and post-description of thememory, F(1, 119) = 9.61, p < .01. Vitality was signiﬁcantly higher
after the description of the memory (M = 59.24, SD = 21.5) than
before (M = 56.40, SD = 21.33). Results also revealed a signiﬁcant

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N. Lekes et al. / Journal of Research in Personality 53 (2014) 103–111
Table 2
Hierarchical regressions analyses of values, memory characteristics and need satisfaction on life satisfaction: Study 2.
Groups

Steps

VariablesbtIntrinsic memory

1

Age
Gender (0 = female)
Intrinsic values
Extrinsic values
Memory valence
Personal signiﬁcanceRehearsal
Need satisfaction

.14
.34
.28
.10
.08
.31
.07
.33

1.34
3.25**
2.50*
1.03
0.81
2.51*
.61
2.59*

Extrinsic memory

1

Age
Gender (0 = female)
Intrinsic values
Extrinsic values
Memory valence
Personal signiﬁcanceRehearsal
Need satisfaction

.00
.32
.17
.35
.10
.22
.03
.17

0.01
2.74**
1.40
3.02**
0.87
1.47
0.23
1.11

2

2

Life satisfaction*

p < .05.
**
p < .01.

vitality  memory group interaction, F(1, 119) = 5.54, p < .05. Analysis of the simple effects of this interaction showed that vitality
post-description (M = 58.50, SD = 20.56) was signiﬁcantly higher
than vitality pre-description (M = 54.36, SD = 20.06), but only after
the description of the intrinsic memory, t(59) = 3.66, p < .01. There
was no difference between post- and pre-vitality after describing
an extrinsic memory, t(62) = 0.56, ns. Gender did not moderate
any of these relationships and controlling for age and memory
signiﬁcance and rehearsal as covariates did not alter the results.
Thus, these results indicate that the description of an intrinsic
memory, but not an extrinsic memory, has a directive impact on
people’s situational vitality.
Finally, a hierarchical regression was conducted on the intrinsic
memory group to examine if vitality post-description could be predicted by any of the variables used in the previous hierarchicalregressions. Again, age, gender, general intrinsic values, general
extrinsic values, personal signiﬁcance of the memory and rehearsalof the memory were entered at Step 1. The general well-being
measure (life satisfaction) was also included in order to control
for the counter-explanation that happier people frame their memories with higher levels of need satisfaction. We also included
vitality pre-description at Step 1 so that all independent variables
predict changes in vitality between the pre- and post-descriptionof the memory. Finally, need satisfaction characterizing the intrinsic memory was entered at Step 2. Results revealed a signiﬁcanteffect of general extrinsic values (b = .13, p < .05) on vitality postdescription at Step 1. This result suggests that the description of
an intrinsic memory could have an even more positive impact onvitality for those who generally endorse extrinsic values. No othervariables were signiﬁcant at Step 1. At Step 2, need satisfaction was
found to be signiﬁcantly positively associated with vitality postdescription (b = .16, p < .05). This latter result suggests that thelevel of need satisfaction in an intrinsic memory contributes toincreasing people’s vitality following the description of one of theirintrinsic memories, but not following one of their extrinsic memories (as shown above, there was no increase of vitality following
the description of an extrinsic memory and need satisfaction in
extrinsic memories was unrelated to change in vitality, b = .03,
ns). Overall, our results suggest that memories related to intrinsic
values are particularly important in contributing to general and situational well-being. In addition, this effect seems to occur throughthe level of need satisfaction characterizing these memories.

5. Discussion
The present study found that autobiographical memories withthemes related to intrinsic values (close relationships, self-growth,
helping others, making a contribution to society) are associatedwith people’s well-being and adjustment. We further found thatthe relationship between intrinsic memories and well-being isinﬂuenced by the degree to which memories satisfy basic psychological needs. Importantly, we discovered these results using two
different methodologies: coding spontaneously generated autobiographical memories and randomly assigning individuals to write
about an intrinsic or an extrinsic memory.
Using self-determination theory’s distinction between intrinsic
and extrinsic values and following the work of Bauer, McAdams,
and Sakaeda (2005), we examined the content of people’s memories. We invited participants to describe one memory that was
positive, negative, or neutral whereas Bauer et al. (2005) asked participants to describe three memories (about a high point, lowpoint, and a turning point in life). Our results provide additional
information on the degree to which individuals spontaneously
describe an intrinsic autobiographical memory. When asked todescribe a signiﬁcant personal memory, 42% of our participants(Study 1) described an event with intrinsic themes. For example,
participants described memories of helping others through workor volunteer experiences, and of key moments in relationships
such as becoming closer to someone, expressing feelings for theﬁrst time, or ending a relationship and the growth that ensued
from these moments.
Using a different method for asking about autobiographicalmemories, we arrived at a similar conclusion to that of Bauer,
McAdams, and Sakaeda (2005). People’s well-being is associatedwith the degree to which they remember events related to close
relationships, community, helping others, and self-growth rather
than events that are not related to intrinsic values. We found thatparticipants who described an intrinsic memory experienced
greater life satisfaction and psychological adjustment than participants who described a non-intrinsic memory. Our ﬁndings arecongruent with a large body of research that has demonstrated
that the more that people prioritize intrinsic values for self-growth,close relationships, and helping others compared to extrinsic values for wealth, status, and image, the greater their well-being(Kasser, 2002; Lekes et al., 2012). They are also congruent with

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the ﬁnding that for female participants, memories of close relationships were associated with self-esteem and related to increases inself-esteem over time whereas memories related to getting
approval from friends was associated with chronically low anddecreasing self-esteem (Thorne & Michaelieu, 1996).
Self-determination theorists have proposed that the vital difference between intrinsic and extrinsic values that accounts for theirdifferential relationship to well-being is the degree to which they
are linked to the satisfaction of needs for competence, autonomy,
and relatedness. Researchers have found some support for this
proposition. When parents support their children’s needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence, children are more likely to internalize and prioritize intrinsic values (Kasser, Ryan, Zax, & Sameroff,
1995; Lekes et al., 2010, 2011; Williams, Cox, Hedberg, & Deci,
2000). Providing more direct evidence, Niemiec et al. (2009) foundthat over the course of a year, change in the attainment of post-college students’ intrinsic values related to change in well-being andthe relationship was mediated by psychological need satisfaction.
The present study is the ﬁrst to show that the relationshipbetween intrinsic memory content and well-being is inﬂuenced
by need satisfaction and importantly does so using both correlational and experimental designs. In Study 1, need satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between intrinsic concerns in an
autobiographical memory and life satisfaction and fully mediatedthe relationship between intrinsic concerns and psychologicaladjustment. In Study 2, the degree to which intrinsic memories satisﬁed the three needs predicted participants’ life satisfaction,
whereas need satisfaction in extrinsic memories was unrelated tolife satisfaction. We further found that need satisfaction in an
intrinsic memory contributes to increases in vitality following its
description/recall. These results support self-determination theory’s proposition that extrinsic values depend on the contingent
reaction of others and are often pursued as a means to an end
whereas intrinsic values are thought to be inherently satisfying
and congruent with psychological needs (Kasser, 2002). It follows
that need satisfaction accounts for the relationship between intrinsic memories and well-being. In contrast, whether or not individuals found their extrinsic memories to be need-satisfying wasunrelated to their well-being.
Importantly we extended previous research by testing the relationship between intrinsic memories and well-being experimentally. When participants were randomly assigned to describe
either an intrinsic or an extrinsic memory, we discovered that those
who described a personal memory related to self-development,close relationships, and/or community contribution experienced
an immediate increase in vitality. In this manner, Study 2 adds torecent experimental research in which a focus on intrinsic goals
and values leads to increases in people’s well-being. When young
people were randomly assigned to pursue either three extrinsic
goals (e.g. enhance your name recognition or popularity, ﬁnd a
way to earn some extra money) or three intrinsic goals (e.g. get toknow someone beyond a superﬁcial level, join a volunteer organization), researchers found that intrinsic, but not extrinsic, goal attainment was related to changes in well-being (Sheldon et al., 2010).
Even more recently, researchers found that when participants wererandomly assigned to reﬂect on their intrinsic values rather than acontrol activity, they experienced greater well-being (Lekes et al.,2012). Thus, whether pursuing short-term intrinsic goals, reﬂecting
on intrinsic values, or remembering events with intrinsic themes,
people experience beneﬁts to their well-being.
Interestingly, our results held regardless of whether individuals’
values were oriented toward intrinsic or extrinsic concerns. Moreover, we found that the more that individuals endorsed extrinsic
values, the more likely they were to experience increased vitality
following their description of an intrinsic memory. This adds tothe evidence provided by Sheldon, Gunz, Nichols, and Ferguson(2010) in which even for individuals with an extrinsic value orientation, attaining intrinsic, but not extrinsic goals, increased theirwell-being.
Finally, Study 2 adds to the understanding of the directive function of memory (Pillemer, 2003). Describing an intrinsic memory
had an immediate effect on people’s situational well-being and thisdirective force was a function of the level of need satisfaction characterizing the intrinsic memory. This ﬁnding extends previous workon the directive force of recalling or reactivating a memory (e.g.,
Kuwabara & Pillemer, 2010; Philippe et al., 2012), while specifyingthat a directive effect on well-being is more likely to occur withintrinsic memories, and does not occur with extrinsic memories.
The present study is limited in several ways. We examinedwell-being and memories at one time point only. Study 2 provides
evidence that describing intrinsic memories transiently increases
situational well-being yet it is still unknown whether this effectcould help build an increased sense of well-being over time. Longitudinal study of memories would allow researchers to examine theimpact of remembering events related to intrinsic values overtime. Likewise it is important to test our results in community
samples given that our results are limited to college students. For
example, intrinsic memories could have a greater effect on wellbeing at certain life stages such as during the college years andearly adulthood when people’s identity is developing. Samples ofparticipants in different age groups would be useful for examining
this question. Furthermore, it is important to test our results from
Study 2 with a larger sample of male participants.
Our results raise questions for further study. Given that close to
60% of the participants in Study 1 did not spontaneously describe amemory with intrinsic themes, can individuals be encouraged toremember and reﬂect on their intrinsic memories? It may beneﬁt
individuals to activate their intrinsic memories regularly. All ofour participants in Study 2 were able to describe an intrinsic memory. In line with the ﬁndings of Lekes et al. (2012), such reﬂecting
may help increase people’s well-being over short periods of time. A
further question is whether individuals can focus on intrinsicallythemed memories over longer periods of time in order to inﬂuence
their long-term well-being. This has implications for intentional
self-development (Brandtsadter, Wentura, & Rothermund, 1999)
and therapy interventions in which helping professionals encourage reﬂection on memories related to growth- personal, relational,
and societal. Given that negative memories are associated withlower well-being (Philippe, Lecours, & Beaulieu-Pelletier, 2009),
and that Bauer, McAdams, and Sakaeda (2005) found a lower rateof intrinsic memories for low points in life than high points, canindividuals frame negative memories in terms of intrinsic growth
to the beneﬁt of their well-being? Researchers recently found that
individuals’ interpretation of past events as causing various forms
of self-growth predicts their well-being (Lilgendahl & McAdams,2011), suggesting that this is an important area for future research.
The main message from these two studies is that remembering
events with intrinsic themes compared to non-intrinsic or extrinsic
themes is related to well-being through the degree to which these
events satisfy our basic psychological needs. These ﬁndings are inline with self-determination theory’s proposition that satisfactionof our psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are at the heart of optimal well-being and psychologicaladjustment. They further have implications for fostering wellbeing through the type of memories that people focus on andhow they frame their memories.
Acknowledgment
This study was supported by a grant from the Social Science andHumanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to the third
author.

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