Consecrated Lives: Life Story Memories of Monks and Nuns Compared to the General Population

Tabea Wolf, University of Hohenheim
Christin Camia, Zayed University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Journal Of Applied Research In Memory And Cognition

Publication Date

8-21-2025

Abstract

When asked to recall important life story events, individuals may draw on internalized cultural norms to decide what is appropriate to include in their life stories. This study explored the life story memories of 144 monks and nuns compared to life story memories of 143 individuals of the general population to scrutinize the content, memory characteristics, and reminiscence bump in individuals whose lives are not structured by the typical occupational and marital transitions of young adulthood. As expected, monks and nuns' life stories focused on the different stages of consecrated life, while the comparison group's life stories focused on marriage and children. Despite these differences, attributable to different lifestyles and norms, we found great similarities regarding content, valence, and temporal distribution of life story memories. Monks and nuns seem to be as driven to tell positive life stories emphasizing their individuality and self-determination as the general population.

ISSN

2211-3681

Publisher

American Psychological Association (APA)

Disciplines

Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

important autobiographical memories, life story, reminiscence bump, life script, religion

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

no

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