Remembering beloved objects from early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence and the role of the five senses

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ABSTRACT Beloved objects are cherished and valued possessions that we feel attached to. Previous research has demonstrated that the functions of beloved objects change across a lifespan. However, beloved objects may not only be appreciated because of their functions but also because of their sensory qualities. We hypothesised that the sensory experiences with beloved objects show a developmental trajectory and that the proximal senses (touch, taste, smell) become less important across childhood and adolescence, while the distant senses (vision, hearing) become more important. Moreover, we assumed that the observed changes in the sensory experiences are associated with the corresponding changes of functions across life stages. Building on the idea that those (perceptual) aspects of our environment that are particularly important to us are preferentially stored in memory, we hypothesised that this developmental trajectory would also be reflected in retrospective accounts. Hence, participants (N = 225) were asked to remember beloved objects from early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, to describe their functions and to answer questions regarding their sensory experiences with the objects. The mixed methods data analyses confirmed our hypotheses. Taken together, our study illustrates and underlines the importance of beloved objects for thinking, behaviour, memory, and identity.