TASK DEFINITION: Read the given story and classify it as 'imagined', 'recalled', or 'retold'. If a story is imagined, the person who wrote the story is making it up, pretending they experienced it. If a story is recalled, the person who wrote the story really experienced it and is recalling it from memory. If a story is retold, it is a real memory like the 'recalled' stories, but written down much later after previously writing a 'recalled' story about the same events. So, recalled stories and retold stories will be fairly similar, in that they both were real experiences for the writer. Imagined stories have a more linear flow and contain more commonsense knowledge, whereas recalled stories are less connected and contain more specific concrete events. Additionally, higher levels of self reference are found in imagined stories. Between recalled and retold stories, retold stories flow significantly more linearly than recalled stories, and retold stories are significantly higher in scores for cognitive processes and positive tone.
PROBLEM: During a Christmas Party, my co-worker was having one of her worst days. She usually always harassed the other people in the kitchen but today she decided to harass me more than anyone else. I think why she disliked me the most was because I made it clear her behavior was unacceptable to me, while everyone else would just smile at her and than say terrible things about her when she left. She decided to try to bark orders at me, despite me being equal to her at work. She got so angry at me she would blow up at me before taking her break, and than while on her break she called the other co-workers in the kitchen to tell them to make sure I wasn't messing everything up for everyone else. She would threaten me, and berate me the entire day which my boss was entirely aware of. When I brought it up to my boss, just like I had done so dozens of times in the past, he just brushed it off and said to ignore her. I finally decided I had, had enough of my job and handed my boss my two weeks notice before leaving the building. He tried to guilt-trip me into staying by suggesting that a person with tough skin could handle it, and everywhere I go people like her would be there. However, I made it clear to him that in other work environments bosses enforce rules and if they're not followed the person is fired. My boss finally got the big picture of the problem with my co-worker and pulled her in to have a talk about her behavior, she came out quiet but proceed to be just as bad the next day. When you have a job where no one is ever fired, they never feel the need to change their behavior. When my two week notice was almost up, people kept telling me they would miss me and I was a good worker. That made me very happy, and made me feel like I had made a difference to people at my job. I think about that place sometimes but never do I miss it. While I hated to work there, I must admit it taught me a valuable lesson in dealing with others. My co-worker who harassed me left a week after I did, with my work asking me if I would come back shortly after. I of course, said no.

SOLUTION: retold

PROBLEM: About four weeks ago, my wife and I realized that our lives were lacking any sort of spontaneity. It seemed like we were stuck in a rut. Then, we both remembered an online friend we had met via social media. Although we had never met in person before, we decided to meet up with them after this budding online relationship. My wife suggested that we go downtown for dinner and drinks. I messaged the person, and they said they'd love to join. Actually, it seemed like they were too enthusiastic about the meetup. This led to some high anxiety on my part, since I tend to be skeptical. I asked myself questions like "Is this invitation socially acceptable?" and "Why is this person so eager to meet us?". Luckily, my wife was able to talk out the doubt and reduce my apprehension toward the situation. So, we got ready, my wife being a little late as usual, and took a taxi downtown to meet our new friend. As we arrived to the restaurant, our new friend and us both got out of the taxis at the same time, so we had a good laugh. From then on, the night seemed to go rather smoothly. We talked about our lives and our interests, and there seemed to be a real friendship budding. After a few drinks, we decided to call it a night and exchanged more contact information. We decided that we'll see each other in a few weeks. Overall, it was great. I'm so glad my wife calmed me down. In the process, we gained a new friend and reignited our social life.

SOLUTION: imagined

PROBLEM: A few weeks ago my boyfriend found out his roommate was going to be moving out. He was telling me about it, acting kind of nervous. We were having dinner together, we had ordered food to his apartment, and having a nice night together. He then stops eating, puts down his fork and turns to me. He tells me that things have been going really well with us and he's been thinking about this for awhile. He says that we spend most nights at the same apartment anyway, and, while it's not the reason he's asking, with his roommate moving out it just makes the most sense to move in together. He reassures me that he's not asking because it's convenient for him, but that he's been wanting to and it's just practical to do it now. We have been dating for about 2 years, and I had been thinking about taking that step too. I tell him that I think it sounds perfect, that I had been thinking about it too. We spend the night talking about how we'll handle it. We discuss where we'll live, if we'll take one of our current apartments or find a new one. We decide to both live at his current apartment, it's bigger then mine since I lived alone and in a good area that is convenient for both of us. It felt so good to be taking this step with him. He doesn't always like to talk about feeling so this shows me where he stand with me and our relationship. I don't remember being that happy for a long time.

SOLUTION:
recalled