Explaining change in content of life narratives over time

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Memory

Publication Date

5-27-2020

Abstract

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Aiming to further the understanding of stability and change of the life story, we investigated memory age and valence of life events as possible factors influencing life narrative stability. Additionally, we examined personal memories that 145 participants ranging in age from 16 to 69 years had told four years earlier but omitted from their current life narratives. In particular, we tested the accessibility of these omitted memories and explored the reasons for omission from life narratives. Younger age of memories but not valence predicted omission. Further, omitted memories could be remembered when aided with memory prompts. Both remembering and including life events in the current life narrative appeared to be related to personal relevance at the time of telling, supporting prior research that emphasises the role of motivation, ongoing goals, and concerns for the construction of personal narratives.

ISSN

0965-8211

Publisher

Routledge

Volume

28

Issue

5

First Page

655

Last Page

668

Disciplines

Education | Psychology

Keywords

autobiographical memory, forgetting, Life story, narrative identity, stability of life narratives

Scopus ID

85084800096

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS