Development Of Autobiographical Memory Research Articles

Language and autobiographical memory development from 5 to 12 years: A longitudinal perspective.

The main aim of this study, with two repeated measurements, was to analyze the development of autobiographical memory in a sample of 78 Spanish participants at ages 5 (Time 1; M = 62.43 months, range: 50-74 months) and 12 (Time 2; M = 142.71 months, range: 132-155 months). Data were collected on autobiographical memory and verbal functions. We analyzed the relation between language and autobiographical memory specificity from a longitudinal perspective and assessed the indirect effect of vocabulary in the relationship between age and specific memory at both temporal moments. The results showed that language skills were positively related with autobiographical memory specificity at preschool age, but not at the second measurement. Furthermore, vocabulary scores appear to mediate the relationship between age and autobiographical specificity when children are in the preschool years, but not later. These findings agree with previous research that consider preschool age to be a crucial period for the development of autobiographical memory and its relations with language, but once basic command of language is acquired, linguistic differences impact much less on individual differences in autobiographical specificity.

The formation of episodic autobiographical memory is predicted by mental imagery, self-reference, and anticipated details.

Despite the ecological nature of episodic memory (EM) and the importance of consolidation in its functioning, studies tackling both subjects are still scarce. Therefore, the present study aims at establishing predictions of the future of newly encoded information in EM in an ecological paradigm. Participants recorded two personal events per day with a SenseCam portable camera, for 10 days, and characterized the events with different subjective scales (emotional valence and intensity, self-concept and self-relevance, perspective and anticipated details at a month, mental images…). They then performed a surprise free recall at 5 days and 1 month after encoding. Machine learning algorithms were used to predict the future of events (episodic or forgotten) in memory at 1 month. The best algorithm showed an accuracy of 78%, suggesting that such a prediction is reliably possible. Variables that best differentiated between episodic and forgotten memories at 1 month were mental imagery, self-reference, and prospection (anticipated details) at encoding and the first free recall. These results may establish the basis for the development of episodic autobiographical memory during daily experiences.

Nature and Effects of Autobiographical Memory Issues in Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

This comprehensive thematic review focuses on autobiographical memory (AM) in individuals with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with the overarching aim of informing and instructing stakeholders on this important memory structure that is often compromised in individuals with ASD. Accordingly, articles that best address the theme were selected from legitimate publishers with prime peer-reviewed journals. ASD is recognized as a neurodevelopmental disorder, often impacting on many aspects of language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Considerable research has documented the problems children and adults with ASD frequently exhibit in language and its offshoots, the development of executive function, and theory of mind or the ability to reflect on the thoughts and feelings of self and others. These studies resulted in numerous assessments and intervention strategies designed to target the noted issues, among them problems with AM. Specialists in a variety of medical, psychological, and educational fields are exploring the nature and development of AM across the lifespan and the effects of AM weaknesses on cognitive and social-emotional factors such as self-regulation, social interactions, and self-identity. Researchers are reporting on the nature of AM deficits in persons with ASD and how AM deficits interact with or may explain other difficulties exhibited by these persons, but to date, little of this research has been incorporated into assessment and intervention strategies for persons with ASD. The aims of this article are to: 1. Describe the nature of AM, 2. Expound on assessments of AM, 3. Explain the effects of deficits in AMs on the personal narratives, self-regulation, and self-identity of persons with ASD, and 4. Explore intervention strategies to facilitate AM and the abilities of persons with ASD to tell coherent personal narratives.

A Review on Autobiographical Memory Development and Self-Esteem in Immigrant Adolescents

A Review on Autobiographical Memory Development and Self-Esteem in Immigrant Adolescents

The longitudinal influence of parenting and parents' traces on narrative identity in young adulthood.

This longitudinal follow-up studied continued effects of parental influences on narrative identity in young adulthood. Decades of research have shown the importance of parental shared reminiscing and positive parenting for the development of children's and youths' autobiographical memory and narrative identity. Yet, research on long-term influences of parenting on narrative indices in adulthood is scarce, even though parents' traces remain a part of narrative identity throughout the life span (Köber & Habermas, 2018). Therefore, in this study, 118 individuals (at time 1: Mage = 17.3 years, SD = .77, 73% female, 82% White) reported at age 17 on their perceived positive parenting. As emerging and young adults, as part of follow-ups at ages 26 and again at 32, participants provided life story interviews. First, it was tested whether earlier positive parenting longitudinally predicted parents' traces in later life stories. Second, we studied the joint long-term prediction of parenting and parents' traces to several narrative features of these young adults' life stories, including emotional tone, coherent positive resolution, and narrative complexity. Results replicated prior research on parents' traces and showed moreover that perceived parenting shape offspring's narrative identity well into young adulthood. These long-term findings are consistent with the notion that narrative identity in adulthood is rooted in the family, and continuously shaped by experiences with parents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Editorial:Narrative‐BasedApproaches in Psychological Research and Practice

Editorial:<scp>Narrative‐Based</scp>Approaches in Psychological Research and Practice

Cultural Pathways and Outcomes of Autobiographical Memory Development

AbstractThe development of autobiographical memory is a culturally constructive process in which children learn to remember and share their personal experiences in culture‐specific ways. In this article, I present a theoretical model that situates children’s independent recall and joint reminiscing with parents in the cultural context. Built on cross‐cultural research, the model specifies various pathways—self‐goals, language, emotion knowledge, and perceptual styles—through which culture shapes autobiographical memory development. The model also demonstrates the role of culture in moderating the psychosocial outcomes of remembering, so the content, form, and stance of memory serve functions specific to the cultural ecology. I conclude that the development of autobiographical memory occurs in response to children’s diverse cultural experiences, and outline directions for research.

Parent–child attachment security is associated with preschoolers’ memory accuracy for emotional life events through sensitive parental reminiscing

There is considerable controversy regarding the accuracy and suggestibility of children’s autobiographical memory for emotionally salient life events. Attachment perspectives of autobiographical memory development identify the attachment security of parent–child dyads and parents’ emotional support and coherence during reminiscing with their children as critical mechanisms underlying children’s memory accuracy and suggestibility. In the current investigation, 72 preschool-aged children (M = 4.01 years, SD = 0.85; 44 female) reminisced with their parents about times they felt happy, sad, scared, and angry. Children were then independently interviewed about these experiences by an unfamiliar researcher using free recall, specific questions (i.e., questions about factual details), and misleading questions (i.e., questions suggesting false details). Parents completed an assessment of their children’s attachment security within the parent–child relationship. Results revealed significant indirect effects of parent–child attachment security on children’s memory accuracy through parental sensitive guidance during reminiscing when cognitive (i.e., intelligence) and behavioral (i.e., temperament, behavior problems) covariates were statistically controlled. Parent–child attachment security was positively associated with parental sensitive guidance during reminiscing, which, in turn, was positively associated with the accuracy of children’s independent reports. The findings support attachment perspectives of autobiographical memory by identifying emotionally sensitive and coherent reminiscing as a parenting behavior that explains in part associations between parent–child attachment security and children’s independent memory accuracy for emotional life events.

Maternal Reminiscing Is Associated With Preschoolers' Reports of Maltreatment During Forensic Interviews.

Children's reports during forensic interviews regarding maltreatment allegations are often critical for legal processes and for guiding decisions regarding services for children and their families. Field research examining forensic interviews with children has identified a wide range in the amount of information children report to interviewers. Research examining associations between children's forensic reports and their broader ecological and developmental contexts related to autobiographical memory would critically contribute to our understanding of children's reports of trauma during forensic investigations. Guided by the sociocultural theory of autobiographical memory development and a self-determination perspective of interviewing child witnesses, associations between the number of allegation-relevant details reported by 52 preschoolers (M = 4.59 years old, SD = 1.06) during forensic interviews concerning substantiated maltreatment allegations and later maternal elaborative and autonomy supportive reminiscing from observations of mother-child interactions during a laboratory assessment were examined. Consistent with previous research regarding children's autobiographical memory, a positive association between maternal elaborative reminiscing about everyday experiences with their children and the number of unique allegation-relevant details children reported during forensic interviews was observed, but only when mothers reminisced with their children in an autonomy supportive manner. Theoretical and practical implications for interviewing child witnesses are discussed.

Maternal reminiscing and child autobiographical memory elaboration: A meta-analytic review.

Significant research has investigated the relationship between mother-child reminiscing and children's autobiographical memory development. It has been suggested that mothers who adopt a high elaborative reminiscing style tend to have children who provide greater memory elaboration during joint reminiscing, yet the empirical findings are somewhat mixed. To address this issue, a systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between maternal elaborative reminiscing and child autobiographical memory elaboration. Thirty-four cross-sectional and longitudinal studies from peer-reviewed journals and published dissertations were included in the review. Of those, 31 studies had available data for meta-analytic analyses of the maternal reminiscing variables identified in the review. Findings from this study provided strong evidence indicating that high elaborative maternal reminiscing was associated with children's ability to provide greater detailed personal memory, both concurrently and longitudinally. Among maternal elaborative reminiscing elements identified, mothers' open-ended elaboration and positive evaluation were found to be most related to child memory elaboration. More research is needed to identify the effects of sociocultural contexts on the relationship between maternal elaborative reminiscing and child memory elaboration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Measuring Parents’ Elaborative Reminiscing: Differential Links of Parents’ Elaboration to children’s Autobiographical Memory and Socioemotional Skills

ABSTRACTParents’ elaboration plays an important role in autobiographical memory and socioemotional development. Two types of coding approaches have been used to assess parents’ elaboration: a frequency-based coding (absolute frequencies of different types of elaborative utterances) and a scale-based coding (a 5-point scale based on relative frequencies of types of questions). We examined whether these two coding approaches were related and whether they were differentially associated with child autobiographical memory and socioemotional skills. Sixty-eight preschoolers (M = 50.32) reminisced about positive and negative past events, with their parents and with a researcher. Parents’ elaboration was assessed using the frequency- and scale-based coding approaches. Child autobiographical memory and emotion references were assessed in shared recall (parent–child conversations). Child autobiographical memory was also assessed in independent recall (researcher-child conversations). Child emotion regulation was assessed using the Challenging Situation task. The two coding approaches were moderately related. Parents’ elaboration was related to child autobiographical memory and emotion references in shared recall, regardless of the coding approach. Whereas the frequency-based coding was uniquely related to child memory in the independent recall, the scale-based coding was uniquely related to child emotion regulation. Implications of using diverse coding approaches to understand the role of parents in child development are discussed.

Erken çocukluk döneminde bebeklik/çocukluk amnezisi ve otobiyografik bellek gelişimi

Kişinin kendi geçmişindeki düşünceleri, duyguları ve davranışları hakkındaki anılarından oluşan otobiyografik bellek, çeşitli işlevleri bakımından çocuğun gelişiminde önemli bir kavramdır. Otobiyografik belleğin benlik gelişimine etkisi büyüktür. Kişilerin benlik devamlılığını, öz-düzenleme ihtiyaçlarını karşılayabilmelerini ve geçmiş yaşantı ve deneyimlerinden edinilen dersler sayesinde şimdi ve gelecekteki davranışlar hakkında çıkarsamalarda bulunup planlama yapabilmeyi sağlayan otobiyografik bellek, sosyal ilişkiler için de temel öneme sahiptir. Kişisel geçmişimizde sürekliliği sağlayan otobiyografik bellek gelişimi çoğu yetişkin yaşamının ilk üç-dört yılını hatırlayamadığı bebeklik/çocukluk amnezisinin bitiminde başlamaktadır. Erken dönem deneyimleri ilerleyen yaşlarda kritik öneme sahiptir. Hatırlanamadığı halde yetişkin yaşamını önemli derecede etkileyen bebeklik/çocukluk amnezisi, üzerinde uzunca süredir çalışılmış bir konudur. Bu çalışmada, otobiyografik bellek, otobiyografik belleğin gelişimi ve bebeklik/çocukluk amnezisi incelenmiş ve çocuk gelişimi bağlamında bazı önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Development of Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory in Offspring of Depressed Mothers

ABSTRACT Maternal depression increases the risk for offspring cognitive vulnerabilities, which may be a mechanism underlying the intergenerational transmission of depression. Little is known about how cognitive vulnerabilities, particularly memory biases, develop in the offspring of depressed mothers. Understanding the etiology of memory biases may lead to novel intervention targets. Therefore, the current study examined the prospective impact of maternal depression on the development of offspring overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM; i.e., the tendency to recall less specific memories), a cognitive vulnerability implicated in the intergenerational transmission of depression. Participants were offspring (ages 8–14; 51% daughters, 81% Caucasian) of mothers with (n= 129) or without (n= 122) a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) during the offspring’s life. Mothers and offspring completed assessments every 6 months for 2 years. Compared to offspring of never-depressed mothers, offspring of mothers with a history of MDD recalled less specific memories in response to negative, but not positive, cue words at the initial assessment, and this bias was maintained across the 2-year follow-up. For offspring of depressed, but not never-depressed, mothers, higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms at a given assessment predicted prospective decreases in the children’s autobiographical memory specificity. Again, this finding was specific to negative, but not positive, cue words. These results suggest that maternal depression has both short- and long-term effects on the development of offspring OGM to negative cues, which may represent a malleable cognitive vulnerability for the intergenerational transmission of MDD that could be targeted for intervention.

Sleep and cognitive development in preschoolers: Stress and autobiographical performance associations

Sleep regulation is an important developmental milestone for children. Although sleep quality has been associated with mental health as a function of negative valence of memories, to our knowledge, there is no information about autobiographical memory specificity and sleep functioning among children ages 3 to 6 years. Because autobiographical memory is consolidated at 4 and a half years of age, this is an important developmental period to study. Thus, the main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between sleep characteristics (by parental self-report) and performance on the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) adapted for children (Nieto, Ros, Mateo, Ricarte, & Latorre, 2017), as well as the relationships between sleep characteristics, AMT and stress levels. One hundred seventy children (51% boys) between the ages of 41 and 78 months were tested in an infant/preschool context. Results showed that the time (measured in minutes) slept during the night or the day positively correlated with autobiographical memory specificity, regardless of memory valence. Finally, specific memories with a positive valence correlated negatively with stress. Due to the relevance of sleep for neurological development and its association with psychopathology, the current results support the significance of controlling sleep quality in the development of autobiographical memory in children, as well as the need to explore its possible association with the presence of positive or negative emotional state during retrieval. In short, our results represent the first approach to the subject under study, which should be completed with objective sleep measures.

Identity Narrative and Its Role in Biological Survival: Implications for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy

ABSTRACTIn this article, we propose the term identity narrative (IdN) to define an implicit emotional and cognitive framework that serves as an unconscious scaffolding for the gradual development of autobiographical memory. We distinguish preverbal IdN from narrative identity, a term previously used in the philosophical literature. Unlike narrative identity, which refers to conscious life scripts, IdN is unconscious and constitutes a contemporary neuropsychological conceptualization of the unconscious. Within autobiographical memory, IdN has a stabilizing function providing individual predictability and, hence, social stability. IdN begins prior to language acquisition and has an evolutionary significance. It is consolidated by neurohormonal mechanisms, influences and is influenced by attachment, and molds the manner in which autobiographical memory is recalled. It participates in the emergence of self and identity. IdN is reshaped throughout life by both bottom-up (implicit “predictive cycle” paradigm) and top-down acquisitions that include paradigm shift/sudden new insights, experiences with high emotional valence, repetition and practicing, and prolonged exposure. In this way, IdN, autobiographical memory, and the language brain are parts of a larger biological substrate of human social affiliations.

Misremembrance of Things Past: Depression Is Associated With Difficulties in the Recollection of Both Specific and Categoric Autobiographical Memories.

Impaired retrieval of specific, autobiographical memories of personally experienced events is characteristic of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, findings in subclinical samples suggest that the reduced specificity phenomenon may reflect a broader impairment in the deliberate retrieval of all autobiographical memory types. This experiment (N = 68) explored this possibility by requiring individuals with and without MDD to complete a cued-recall task that required retrieval of specific, single-incident memories to a block of cues; retrieval of categoric, general memories to a block of cues; and to alternate between retrieval of specific and general memories for a block of cues. Results demonstrated that relative to never-depressed controls, individuals with MDD experience reduced recall of both specific (d = 0.48) and general memories (d = 1.00) along with reduced flexibility in alternating between specific and general memories (d = 0.90). Findings support further development of autobiographical memory–based interventions that target a range of retrieval deficits rather than specificity alone.

The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development.

This article tests the hypothesis that self-development plays a role in the offset of childhood amnesia; assessing the importance of both the capacity to anchor a memory to the self-concept, and the strength of the self-concept as an anchor. This research demonstrates for the first time that the volume of 3- to 6-year old's specific autobiographical memories is predicted by both the volume of their self-knowledge, and their capacity for self-source monitoring within self-referencing paradigms (N=186). Moreover, there is a bidirectional relation between self and memory, such that autobiographical memory mediates the link between self-source monitoring and self-knowledge. These predictive relations suggest that the self-memory system is active in early childhood.

Sociocultural developmental approaches to autobiographical memory

SummaryThe sociocultural developmental model of autobiographical memory development has been a highly generative theoretical framework over the past 30 years, garnering both a great deal of empirical attention and support. In this article, the author details the theoretical framework and reviews the empirical evidence that indicates that individual differences in maternal reminiscing style has profound and enduring implications for the development of autobiographical memory. Concurrent, longitudinal, and experimental intervention research has demonstrated that mothers who reminisce in more highly elaborated ways with their preschool children facilitate the development of more elaborate and coherent autobiographical memories.

Çocukluk Çağı Amnezisi: Hatırlanan İlk Çocukluk Anısı Yaşı ile İlişkili Faktörler

<div><!--block-->Childhood amnesia is a state which is characterized by an inability to fully remember autobiographical memories formed in the early stages of development. Although it is generally accepted that the earliest memories belong to the ages of 3 or 4, the exact age to which the first childhood memory belongs is still debatable. This study aims to identify the age of a first childhood memory, and to investigate the effects of gender, factors related to that memory, attachment style and childhood traumatic experiences on the age of first memory. A total of 137 university students participated in the study. Participants were asked to write down their first memory and fill out a survey that asked for the age and features of the memory such as the level of ordinariness, clarity, emotional intensity, and integrity. In addition, participants’ early traumatic experiences and attachment styles were assessed. The results indicated that the age to which first memory belongs ranges between 24 and 95 months, with a mean of 52.44 (SD = 16.77) months. The age of the earliest memory was significantly younger for women compared to men. In addition to gender, early traumatic experiences related to parents’ relationships emerged as another significant predictor of the age of the earliest memory. Childhood amnesia is perceived as an indicator of the development of autobiographical memory. Our findings suggest that in addition to personal characteristics such as gender, childhood amnesia is also related to early childhood experiences.</div>

New perspectives on childhood memory: introduction to the special issue

ABSTRACTThis special issue brings together the scholarship that contributes diverse new perspectives on childhood amnesia – the scarcity of memories for very early life events. The topics of the studies reported in the special issue range from memories of infants and young children for recent and distant life events, to mother–child conversations about memories for extended lifetime periods, and to retrospective recollections of early childhood in adolescents and adults. The methodological approaches are diverse and theoretical insights rich. The findings together show that childhood amnesia is a complex and malleable phenomenon and that the waning of childhood amnesia and the development of autobiographical memory are shaped by a variety of interactive social and cognitive factors. This collective body of work will facilitate discussion and deepen our understanding of the dynamics that influence the accessibility, content, accuracy, and phenomenological qualities of memories from early childhood.