Historically defined autobiographical periods: their origins and implications

Brown, Norman; Hansen, Tia G. B.; Lee, Peter J.; Vanderveen, Sarah A.; Conrad, Fredrick G.

doi:10.1017/cbo9781139021937.013

Cited by 57 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…One theory of memory, transition theory (Brown, Hansen, Lee, Vanderveen, & Conrad, 2012;Brown & Lee, 2010;Brown et al, 2009;Brown, Schweickart, & Svob, 2016;Nourkova & Brown, 2014;Zebian & Brown, 2014), has investigated the impact of historical events on memory. According to transition theory, memory is organized by events that signal or cause marked changes in the ordinary circumstances of daily life; such events are called transitions.…”

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

et al. 2016

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Intergenerational transmission of memory is a process by which biographical knowledge contributes to the construction of collective memory (representation of a shared past). We investigated the intergenerational transmission of war-related memories and social-distance attitudes in second-generation post-war Croatians. We compared 2 groups of young adults from (1) Eastern Croatia (extensively affected by the war) and (2) Western Croatia (affected relatively less by the war). Participants were asked to (a) recall the 10 most important events that occurred in one of their parents' lives, (b) estimate the calendar years of each, and (c) provide scale ratings on them. Additionally, (d) all participants completed a modified Bogardus Social Distance scale, as well as an (e) War Events Checklist for their parents' lives. There were several findings. First, approximately two-thirds of Eastern Croatians and one-half of Western Croatians reported warrelated events from their parents' lives. Second, war-related memories impacted the second-generation's identity to a greater extent than did non-war-related memories; this effect was significantly greater in Eastern Croatians than in Western Croatians. Third, war-related events displayed markedly different mnemonic characteristics than non-war-related events. Fourth, the temporal distribution of events surrounding the war produced an upheaval bump, suggesting major transitions (e.g., war) contribute to the way collective memory is formed. And, finally, outright social ostracism and aggression toward out-groups were rarely expressed, independent of region. Nonetheless, social-distance scores were notably higher in Eastern Croatia than in Western Croatia.

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Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

et al. 2016

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“…Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000;Pillemer, 1998;Shum, 1998;Skowronski et al, 2007). Recently, Brown and colleagues (Brown, Hansen, Lee, Vanderveen, & Conrad, 2012;Zebian & Brown, 2013) proposed Transition Theory to account for mechanisms that turn some experiences, but not others, into such landmark events. According to transition theory, it is the amount of change in daily life an event instigates which turns it into a transitional event (Holmes & Rahe, 1967).…”

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Living in history and living by the cultural life script: How older Germans date their autobiographical memories

Bohn

Habermas

2015

Memory

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This study examines predictions from two theories on the organization of autobiographical memory: Cultural Life Script Theory which conceptualizes the organization of autobiographical memory by cultural schemata, and Transition Theory which proposes that people organize their memories in relation to personal events that changed the fabric of their daily lives, or in relation to negative collective public transitions, called the Living-in-History effect. Predictions from both theories were tested in 48 old Germans from Berlin and Northern Germany. We tested whether the Living-in-History effect exists for both negative (WW II) and positive (Fall of Berlin Wall) collectively experienced events, and whether cultural life script events serve as a prominent strategy to date personal memories. Results showed a powerful, long-lasting Living-in History effect for the negative, but not the positive event. Berlin participants dated 26% of their memories in relation to WW II. Supporting cultural life script theory, life script events were frequently used to date personal memories. This provides evidence that people use a combination of culturally transmitted knowledge and knowledge based on personal experience to navigate through their autobiographical memories, and that experiencing war has a lasting impact on the organization of autobiographical memories across the life span.

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“…As shown by this example, an SCI can be regarded as a transitional event that brings about major and enduring changes in people's life circumstances. Life transitions have been studied by many disciplines including health/clinical psychology (Wheaton, 1990) and cognitive psychology (Brown, Hansen, Lee, Vanderveen, & Conrad, 2012;Brown, & Lee, 2010;Brown, Lee, Krslak, Conrad, Hansen, Havelka, & Reddon, 2009;Brown, Schweickart, & Svob, under review;Shum, 1998). Cognitive researchers are mainly interested in how transitional events impact the organization of autobiographical memories.…”

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confidence: 99%

Disruptive Individual Experiences Create Lifetime Periods: a Study of Autobiographical Memory in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Uzer

Brown

2015

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Previous research showed that transitional events causing catastrophic and long-lasting changes in group of people's lives (e.g., wars) create autobiographical periods. We investigated whether spinal cord injury (SCI), an involuntary and externally driven disruptive event at the individual level, would also act as a temporal landmark and spawn personal periods and whether these periods have comparable functions and temporal characteristics as those generated at the group level. Thirteen volunteers with SCI recalled a cue-related autobiographical event for each of 22 cue words. Later, participants thought aloud when dating each event. We used the prevalence of injury-related references as an index of the degree to which spinal cord injury affects people's lives. We found frequent references to injury for the period neighboring injury event. Unexpectedly, we also found that SCI resulted in post-injury decrease in event memory. Results imply that SCI provides a temporal landmark and creates an autobiographical period.

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Historically defined autobiographical periods: their origins and implications

Cited by 57 publications

References 44 publications

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

Living in history and living by the cultural life script: How older Germans date their autobiographical memories

Disruptive Individual Experiences Create Lifetime Periods: a Study of Autobiographical Memory in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

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