Forks in the Road: Memories of Turning Points and Transitions

Turning points and transitions are both life events marked by significant change. Whereas turning points are personal changes in life direction, transitions are external changes in daily circumstances. Transition‐linked turning points are events that fit both of these definitions. Although transitions and turning points have been examined separately, the current study is the first empirical comparison of these types of events and their overlap. Differences in the characteristics of adults' autobiographical memories of turning points, transitions, and transition‐linked turning points were compared using a within‐subjects design. Memories of transition‐linked turning points and turning points were more central to participants' life stories than transitions, whereas memories of transitions had more similarities in content, particularly location, with related memories. These results suggest that transitions organize autobiographical memory whereas turning points anchor the life story. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.