The relation of the conceptual self to recent and distant autobiographical memories

Based on the self-memory system model (SMS; Conway, Singer, & Tagini, 2004) of autobiographical memory, this study uses a large sample of young and middle-aged adults to investigate the relation between individuals' current self-characteristics and the content of both their earliest childhood memory and a recent memory. In the first session, participants' current self-characteristics were assessed. In the second session, individuals provided a written narrative of their earliest childhood memory and a more recent memory (within-participants design) and rated the self themes present in each memory. In keeping with the SMS model, findings show that current self-characteristics were reflected in individuals' memories. As predicted, however, recent memories were more frequently linked to current self-characteristics than were earliest memories. All six current self-characteristics predicted the inclusion of these themes in recent memories, but only four self-characteristics were associated with memory themes in earliest memories. The relation between current self-characteristics and memory themes did not differ across young and middle-aged adults, suggesting developmental stability in these relations. Findings provide general support for the SMS model but also suggest possibilities for its extension and refinement.     

Adults who are more anxious and were anxiously attached as children report later first memories

Here, we examined retrospective reports of adults’ earliest autobiographical memory, the age of this report and whether the reported age was associated with exposure to early life adversity, current anxiety and childhood attachment. Across four studies, we found that reporting a later ‘earliest’ memory was associated with higher self-reported anxiety in both American (Studies 1, 2 and 4) and Australian (Study 3) samples. Furthermore, in Studies 2–4, we found that reporting a later earliest memory uniquely predicted anxiety when controlling for number of adverse childhood events (a risk factor for the development of anxiety). In Study 4, we established that this relation is partially mediated by childhood anxious attachment. Although we consistently demonstrated that later earliest memories were associated with current anxiety, we found little evidence for a relation between reported age at the time of earliest memory and childhood adversity. We also found no evidence of gender differences in the associations of interest. These results suggest that poorer memory of early childhood is associated with greater childhood anxious attachment and anxiety in adulthood. The implications of this work are discussed in terms of the adaptive nature of autobiographical memory and the development of a coherent life narrative.     

成年女性情景自传体记忆的现象学体验：年龄与时间的作用

目的：考察成年女性情景自传体记忆(EAM)的现象学体验是否受年龄和事件发生时间的影响。方法：95名老、中、青年女性被试详细回述童年及近一年的自传体事件各一件,并完成自传体记忆问卷。结果：所有被试在近期记忆的大多数体验得分上显著高于童年期记忆,年龄主效应及交互作用不显著。在近期记忆的情绪体验上,中、老年女性比青年女性更积极。结论：成年女性EAM的现象学体验受时间影响明显,受年龄影响不大;中、老年女性的EAM现象学体验表现出一定的积极情绪偏向。     

Looking at the past through a telescope: adults postdated their earliest childhood memories

ABSTRACT

Our previous studies have consistently shown a telescoping error in children’s dating of earliest childhood memories. Preschool children through adolescents systematically date their earliest memories at older ages, in comparison with the age estimates provided by their parents or by themselves previously. In the current study, we examined the dating of earliest childhood memories in two samples of college adults and collected independent age estimates from their parents. Consistent with our findings with children, adults significantly postdated their earlier memories by approximately 12 months (Study 1) and 6 months (Study 2). The actual age of earliest memories was 2.5 years after adjusted for telescoping errors, 1 year earlier than what is commonly believed at 3.5 years. These findings challenge commonly held theoretical assumptions about childhood amnesia and highlight critical methodological issues in the study of childhood memory.     

Earliest memories in Israeli kibbutz upbringing: it is parental engagement that makes a difference

Culture and parenting shape the ability to recall early childhood experiences. This research focused on the unique context of upbringing in the Israeli kibbutz and examined how cultural orientation and experiences of parental engagement in Kibbutz and non-Kibbutz settings shaped adults’ earliest memories. Participants were 108 women (study 1) and 75 women and men (study 2) who were raised in traditional kibbutz upbringing or in a non-kibbutz family setting. In addition to reporting their earliest memory and age at earliest memory, participants estimated retrospectively the amount of daily time spent in interaction with parents, caregivers, and other children during the time of earliest memory. Overall, upbringing-related variations in cultural orientation were evident in the content of memories. A prediction of later age at earliest memory due to limited opportunities for parent–child interaction characteristic of traditional kibbutz upbringing was not supported. Rather, in both studies, age at earliest memory was linked to retrospective estimation of parental engagement, after controlling for childhood ecology. Study 2 revealed also a link of age at earliest memory to retrospective estimation of involvement with non-parental caregivers. These findings are congruent with the social-interaction model’s claims about the importance of interaction with caregiving adults to autobiographical memory’s development.     

Reliability of children’s testimony in the era of developmental reversals

A hoary assumption of the law is that children are more prone to false-memory reports than adults, and hence, their testimony is less reliable than adults’. Since the 1980s, that assumption has been buttressed by numerous studies that detected declines in false memory between early childhood and young adulthood under controlled conditions. Fuzzy-trace theory predicted reversals of this standard developmental pattern in circumstances that are directly relevant to testimony because they involve using the gist of experience to remember events. That prediction has been investigated during the past decade, and a large number of experiments have been published in which false memories have indeed been found to increase between early childhood and young adulthood. Further, experimentation has tied age increases in false memory to improvements in children’s memory for semantic gist. According to current scientific evidence, the principle that children’s testimony is necessarily more infected with false memories than adults’ and that, other things being equal, juries should regard adults’ testimony as necessarily more faithful to actual events is untenable.     

Early memories in young adults from separated and non-separated families

Two studies investigated the earliest memories of New Zealand European young adults (N = 80, Study 1 and N = 120, Study 2) from separated and non-separated families. Participants' earliest memories were assessed for age, for density (how far apart the memories were, Study 2) and for narrative coherence of the memories. Questionnaires were designed to investigate the role of changes in family structure, for example, in the number of adults in the participants' households and the timing of the parental separation. Study 2 further investigated stress and painful divorce-related feelings as additional variables in adjustment after divorce. No overall differences in age of earliest memory emerged between young adults from separated and non-separated parents. Within the group from separated parents, however, memories were earlier when parents separated early in the child's life (<age 7), which related to having extended family ties and more coherent memory narratives from early childhood (Study 2). Participants from separated families reported earlier but sparser memories when they reported higher levels of stress and painful feelings about the separation. The development of early autobiographical memories and the offset of childhood amnesia are discussed via transition and social interaction theories of autobiographical memory.     

Self-esteem memories: feeling good about achievement success, feeling bad about relationship distress

College students and middle-aged adults provided memories of occasions when they felt especially good or especially bad about themselves. Probes directed the memory search to several age intervals during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Predominant themes represented in self-esteem memories differed consistently as a function of emotional valence. Memories of positive self-worth frequently focused on achievement/mastery themes, whereas memories of negative self-worth frequently focused on interpersonal/affiliation themes. When people evaluate the self through the lens of autobiographical memory, interpersonal distress is portrayed as especially damaging and achievement success is portrayed as especially enhancing. The asymmetry between positive and negative self-esteem memories is explained using multiple theoretical perspectives within social and personality psychology.     

The psychological distance of memories: Examining causal relations with mood and self-esteem in young,middle-aged and older adults

Three studies examined the self-enhancement function of autobiographical memory (measured with subjective temporal distance of memories). Participants recalled a memory of an attained and a failed goal and rated the subjective distance between each memory and the present. Study 1 showed that young adults with higher self-esteem felt closer to memories of attained goals and farther from failure memories than those with lower self-esteem. In Study 2, young, middle-aged and older adults with higher self-esteem felt closer to success memories, whereas self-esteem was unrelated to the temporal distance of failure memories. In both studies, feeling closer to success memories (and far from failure) led to enhanced mood. In Study 3, state self-esteem was experimentally manipulated. The manipulation had no effect on young and older adults, but middle-aged adults whose self-esteem was decreased, felt closer to success memories than failure memories. Results are discussed in relation to the temporal self-appraisal theory.     

自传体记忆的开端:最早记忆的诱发与评估

童年期遗忘指人们无法回忆起生命最初几年的事情。最早记忆是童年期遗忘开始消退和自传体记忆发生的标志,诸多研究表明成人的最早记忆一般介于3~4岁间,儿童有更早的最早记忆。最早记忆的诱发方法,包括单一最早记忆法、线索词法、穷举法和生命全程法;最早记忆的评估方法,包括自陈式的记忆现象学问卷测量,以及针对记忆叙述内容的编码分析。未来研究要加强纵向研究,追踪最早记忆随年龄而发生的变化;展开特殊人群的研究;完善测量工具;探究早期记忆保持和遗忘的机制。     

Intrafamilial similarities and cross-generational differences in the earliest childhood memories of daughters,mothers, and grandmothers

This study aimed to examine how daughters, mothers, and grandmothers from the same families resembled each other and how these three generations differed from each other in narrating their earliest childhood memories. Fifty-nine triads from the same families filled out a memory questionnaire and were asked to narrate their earliest childhood memories. Results revealed both intrafamilial similarities and cross-generational difference on characteristics of triads’ earliest childhood memories. After earliest childhood memories were coded for memory characteristics, we measured intrafamilial similarities using intra-class correlation coefficients across three generations for each memory characteristic. Results revealed that the earliest childhood memories of members of the same family were significantly similar in terms of level of detail and volume. Although similar patterns among members of the same families were observed in self-related and other-related words, the other/self ratio did not display an intrafamilial similarity. We also measured cross-generational differences and found that daughters’ reported age of their earliest childhood memories was dated significantly earlier compared to their grandmothers. Results revealed predominant intrafamilial similarities among the members of the same family and cross-generational differences in terms of the age of the earliest childhood memory.     

Michael Jackson,Bin Laden and I: Functions of positive and negative,public and private flashbulb memories

This study examined the perceived psychosocial functions of flashbulb memories: It compared positive and negative public flashbulb memories (positive: Bin Laden's death, negative: Michael Jackson's death) with private ones (positive: pregnancy, negative: death of a loved one). A sample of n = 389 young and n = 176 middle-aged adults answered canonical category questions used to identify flashbulb memories and rated the personal significance, the psychological temporal distance, and the functions of each memory (i.e., self-continuity, social-boding, directive functions). Hierarchical regressions showed that, in general, private memories were rated more functional than public memories. Positive and negative private memories were comparable in self-continuity and directionality, but the positive private memory more strongly served social functions. In line with the positivity bias in autobiographical memory, positive flashbulb memories felt psychologically closer than negative ones. Finally, middle-aged adults rated their memories as less functional regarding self-continuity and social-bonding than young adults. Results are discussed regarding the tripartite model of autobiographical memory functions.     

Age,memory type,and the phenomenology of autobiographical memory: Findings from an Italian sample

The present research explored differences in phenomenology between two types of memories, a general self-defining memory and an earliest childhood memory. A sample of 76 Italian participants were selected and categorised into two age groups: 20–30 years and 31–40 years. The Memory Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ) was administered, taking note of latency and duration times of the narratives. Consistent with the literature, the self-defining memory differed significantly from the earliest childhood memory in terms of phenomenology, with the recency of the memory associated with more intense phenomenological experience. The self-defining memory took longer to retrieve and narrate than the earliest childhood memory. Meaningful differences also emerged between the two age groups: Participants in their 30s rated their self-defining memory as more vivid, coherent, and accessible than participants in their 20s. According to latency findings, these differences suggest an expanded period of identity consolidation for younger adults. Further applications of the MEQ should be carried out to replicate these results with other samples of young adults.     

Recollection improves with age: children’s and adults’ accounts of their childhood experiences

ABSTRACT

Since the time of Freud, psychologists have drawn conclusions about children’s memory on the basis of retrospective research with adults. Here, we turn the tables by examining what prospective studies with children and adolescents can tell us about the retrospective memory accounts provided by adults. Adults were interviewed about recent events and events from different points during their childhood (Age 5, Age 10) and early adolescence (Age 13). Children (5- and 8- to 9-year-olds) and young adolescents (12- to 13-year-olds) were interviewed about recent events. When matched for age at the time of encoding, adults recalled more about the target events than did 5-year-olds, even though the retention interval for adults was substantially longer. We conclude that retrospective studies with adults may lead researchers to overestimate the content of the early childhood memories that survive. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for an understanding of memory development and the practical implications for the interpretation of adults’ retrospective accounts in the courtroom.     

"The people I grew up with": the role of sociodemographic factors in early memories in an Italian sample

This within-culture study aimed to investigate the age and density of earliest memories in a sample of Italian young adults. The framework of this study is sociocultural, with an emphasis on family reminiscing as contributing to early memories. In this regard Italy is of interest due to the fact that it is a Western but familial oriented culture, where multi-generational family ties are still strong in comparison with other European counterparts, providing for the opportunity to investigate the offset of childhood amnesia as a function of growing up in an extended family structure. Consistent with Mullen (1994), 90 undergraduate students were interviewed about their earliest memory and about sociodemographic factors in their early childhood years: household composition, gender, birth order, presence of family moves, and significant early childhood experiences. Participants who grew up in an extended family situation reported earlier and denser memories in comparison with those from nuclear families. Results are discussed in light of other cross-cultural work on childhood amnesia and with respect to sociocultural theories of the importance of family reminiscing for one's early memories.     

Origins of adolescents’ autobiographical memories

Adolescents (N = 46; M = 12.46 years) who had previously participated in a longitudinal study of autobiographical memory development narrated their early childhood memories, interpreted life events, and completed a family history questionnaire and language assessment. Three distinct components of adolescent memory emerged: (1) age of earliest memory and insight into life events; (2) volume of early memories; and (3) density of specific memories from early childhood. Children's language, self-awareness, and theory of mind during early childhood (19–51 months) all contributed to their memories as adolescents. However, adolescents’ early reminiscing environment was the best single predictor of the age and volume of their early memories and their insight into life events. In contrast, adolescents’ delayed self-recognition and reminiscing in early childhood predicted the density of their early memories. These findings provide partial support for theories of autobiographical memory development.     

儿童的最早记忆特征及其与早期记忆数量的关系

本研究采用记忆流畅性任务和回忆最早记忆的方式考察了9岁和13岁共60名中国城镇独生儿童的早期记忆特征及各特征之间的关系。结果发现:(1)和西方研究相比,中国儿童回忆最早记忆时更多自发提及他人,尤其是父母。(2)最早记忆年龄与早期记忆数量有显著负相关,最早记忆中关于重要他人的记忆容量、社会取向和道德情绪与早期记忆数量有显著正相关。这些结果说明文化渗透对自传体记忆发生的影响,以及提示无论是最早记忆的质量,还是早期记忆的数量,回忆童年记忆背后可能潜藏着共同机制。     

Deaf and hearing adults' recollections of childhood and beyond

Whereas the average age of earliest reportable personal memory among adults is 3 to 3 1/2, there is considerable individual and group variability in the age of earliest autobiographical memory. Some of the variability is thought to be attributable to differential narrative socialisation. In the present research we tested the hypothesis that by virtue of later exposure to language, individuals born deaf to hearing parents will have earliest memories from later in life, relative to hearing individuals. The average age of single earliest identifiable memory for adults who are deaf and adults who are hearing did not differ. Nevertheless, adults who are deaf were found to have less dense representations of early autobiographical memories and to include in their narrative reports fewer categories of information, including visual-spatial information, relative to hearing adults. Participants' ratings of their memories on a number of dimensions were found to have low utility in predicting the content of autobiographical reports from both early and later in life (i.e., after age 10 years).     

Childhood amnesia in children and adolescents: their earliest memories

Investigations of childhood amnesia have almost exclusively focused on the earliest memories of adults. Here we investigate the earliest memories of children of 6--19 years old. Parents confirmed the memory events and dated the memories. There were surprisingly few developmental differences between the earliest memories of children. Although 6--9-year-olds recalled earlier events than did older children, there were no differences between older age groups. Memories from all age groups were similar in structure, social orientation, and the nature of the recalled event. However, memories of older children were more likely to involve negative affect. There were also few gender differences, although girls were more likely to recall traumatic or transitional events while boys were more likely to recall play events. Overall, results deepen the paradox of early memory: 6--9-year-olds have verbally accessible memories from very early childhood that then seem to disappear as they get older.