Reviewing photographs can bias how we remember because they often capture events from a novel visual perspective (e.g., seeing ourselves in the image). This talk will examine how perspective and self-presence in photographs influences memories. I will describe research demonstrating that having photographs of autobiographical memories that contain the self are more likely to be recalled from an observer-like perspective than memories with photographs in which the self is not visible. I will also discuss how manipulating viewpoint and presence in photographs influences memories.

This talk presents work across three studies in which people viewed and reflected on their own Instagram photos. We find that people thought more about the bigger meaning (vs. physical experience) of the moment captured in a photo when the photo included (vs. did not include) the self in the photo, holding consequences for liking of the photos. Thus, using correlational and experimental approaches, we found that whether a photo includes the self or not can shape how people recall events in their lives by shifting the dimension (physical experience vs. bigger meaning) they focus on during recall.

This experimental study investigates the impact of photo cue perspective on autobiographical memory recall vantage point and processing style. Participants uploaded first-person and non-first-person photo cues for four positive events and engaged in memory recall three days later when viewing either first-person or non-first-person photo cues. For each event, participants rated memory characteristics, the emotional impact of recall, and provided open-ended memory descriptions. Study findings serve to advance understanding of how photo-cue perspective affects autobiographical memory recall and the extent to which these effects are moderated by individual differences in depression symptoms, fear of happiness, and response to positive affect.

Drawing on my research expertise in visual documentation’s role in shaping memories, my discussion will synthesize the three talks to summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the links between photographs and memory. I will discuss how different photographic perspectives (first- vs. third-person) influence memory, potentially leading to errors and distortions, and I will contextualize the three talks within the wider context of research on using photographs to enhance and augment memory for daily life. Finally, I will comment on the impact of modern technology, such as smartphones and social media, on our interaction with photos and subsequent memory reconstruction.