The functions of remembering the past and imagining the future during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

In this study, we explored how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the functions of autobiographical memory and future projection over time. Between May and June 2020, we asked people (N = 286) to recall or imagine personal events from four time periods: past before the pandemic, past during the pandemic, future during the pandemic, and future after the pandemic ends. Participants rated self, social, directive, predictive, and emotion regulation functions, and the phenomenological characteristics of these events. We found that ratings for all functions decreased for the pandemic and increased for the future. Overall, this study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic created a breaking point, with memories being less functional at the beginning of the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic times and the future. However, imagined events that would occur after the pandemic ended were rated most functional, suggesting that people were still optimistic about a pandemic-free future.