Abstract
Memory distortions motivated by interpersonal manipulation are frequently observed in clinical and forensic contexts among individuals with borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. However, experimental studies (e.g., DRM paradigm) have provided limited evidence of increased false-memory susceptibility in personality disorders, possibly because laboratory tasks fail to capture personally motivated memory distortions. We developed the Autobiographical Editing Questionnaire (AEQ), a self-report measure of the deliberate reporting of distorted memories driven by personal motivations, in Japanese and English, and examined its associations with personality traits and dissociation. Across four studies, we confirmed the factorial validity of a 20-item cross-classified nested model, in which each item was jointly defined by four distortion-type dimensions (Maximization, Minimization, Concealment, and Fabrication) and five functional dimensions (Understanding, Empathy, Positive Impression, Negative Impression, and Self-Interest). Except for grandiose narcissism in the English version, the Dark Triad, the Vulnerable Dark Triad, and dissociation correlated positively with the functional dimensions. Consistent patterns emerged across both language versions: vulnerable narcissism was selectively associated with Maximization, Machiavellianism with Minimization, psychopathy with Concealment and Fabrication, and dissociation with Fabrication. These findings suggest that memory distortions observed in personality pathology are not entirely unconscious and can be meaningfully assessed by self-report.