The Relationship Between Positive Experiences, Negative Experiences And Cherished Memories: A Qualitative Examination
Keywords:
Cherished Memories, Happy Experiences, Unhappy Experiences, Positive Insights, Therapeutic Effect, Qualitative Study, Graduate Counselling Students, Emotional Experiences, Memory Recall, Psychological Well-Being.Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship between happy experiences, unhappy experiences and cherished memories. This study compared the cherished memories of 24 Hong Kong graduate counselling students. The transcripts were categorized according to Wilson and Spencer (1990). For those who said that they had had cherished memories, results supported the hypothesis that people remember happy experiences more than unhappy experiences. Results also supported that negative experiences also bring positive insights, in which can be regarded as a therapeutic effect. For those who did not response, it seemed that the hypothesis that "all people are able to be cherishable" was refuted. However, there were a lot of reasons behind this statement. Directions for future research are suggested.
