Sociocultural developmental approaches to autobiographical memory

Abstract

The 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.

A Micro-Analytic Approach to Parent-Child Reminiscing

“…Therefore, the present findings highly concur with the characterization of parent-child reminiscing as a collaborative process of remembering (Reese, 2009(Reese, , 2018. Through the reciprocal verbal interplay, the parent and the child jointly create a shared narrative of a past event, which shapes and enhances children's mental representation of the given event (Fivush, 2019b;Reese, 2018). The collaborative process of verbally organizing past experiences into coherent memory representations essentially make up the children's developing autobiographical memory system Reese, 2009).…”

How parents can shape what children remember: Implications for the testimony of young witnesses.

“…The earliest research on parent–child reminiscing centers on the ways parents’ guide their children’s recollections of shared experiences. In line with most research on parent–child interactions (Paquette, 2004), most studies in this area have centered on mothers, but fathers show similar reminiscing styles (see Fivush, 2019a). In everyday life, parents frequently engage their children in conversations about their past for a variety of practical purposes, such as to build a shared history, maintain emotional bonds, reduce negative affect, foster self-understanding, and direct future behavior (Kulkofsky, 2011).…”

In the shadow of dissidence: exploring the experiences of descendants of Czechoslovakian dissidents

“…Thus, the participants’ recollections and interpretations of the “Asanace” campaign are influenced by their developmental stage at that time. Nonetheless, exposure to such potentially traumatic events during this sensitive developmental period can influence one’s sense of self, the development of coping strategies, attachment, and interpersonal relationships ( Dunn et al, 2017 ; Fivush, 2019 ).…”