The identity function of autobiographical memory: Time is on our side

Abstract

Autobiographical memory plays an important role in the construction of personal identity. We review evidence of the bi-directional link between memory and identity. Individuals' current self-views, beliefs, and goals influence their recollections and appraisals of former selves. In turn, people's current self-views are influenced by what they remember about their personal past, as well as how they recall earlier selves and episodes. People's reconstructed evaluations of memories, their perceived distance from past experiences, and the point of view of their recollections have implications for how the past affects the present. We focus on how people's constructions of themselves through time serve the function of creating a coherent--and largely favourable--view of their present selves and circumstances.

In search of autobiographical memories: A PET study in the frontal variant of frontotemporal dementia

“…In brief, our cognitive data were consistent with the fact that the behavioural changes in fv-FTD patients, together with executive dysfunctions, are linked to the breakdown of AM, and therefore possibly to changes of identity Wilson & Ross, 2003;Addis & Tippet, 2004;Matuszewski et al, 2006).…”

“…This pattern of responses was in line with their difficulty in reporting and reliving episodic details, especially in terms of perceptual and affective details, and their inclination to instead report generic memories. Indeed, in general an observer perspective characterizes semanticized memories (Robinson and Swanson, 1993;Crawley and French, 2005;Nigro & Neisser, 1983;Piolino et al, 2006), detachment from emotional content (D'Argembeau, Comblain & Van der Linden, 2003;Nigro & Neisser, 1983;Lemogne et al, 2006) and from the current self (Libby & Eibach, 2002;Wilson & Ross, 2003). These findings provide some view about the affective and cognitive (goals, A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 21 beliefs) components of memories and self in fv-FTD.…”

“…Indeed, the way people recall matters as much as the content of their memories (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000;Wilson & Ross, 2003). The essence of episodic aspects of AM lies on the phenomenal experience of remembering (Brewer, 1996;Tulving, 2001;Wheeler, Stuss & Tulving, 1997) which almost invariably involves some sort of visual reexperiencing of a personal event (Brewer, 1996;Conway, 2001;Conway, 2005).…”

“…AM and the self are closely linked, as the former grounds the latter and vice versa (Wilson & Ross, 2003). Conway and colleagues (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, (SMS) as a model of the relationship of AM to the self.…”

People consider reliability and cost when verifying their autobiographical memories

“…One prediction is that people will be guided by reliability. Autobiographical memories are important-they define who we are, shape our identity, and facilitate social interactions, so it makes sense to seek accurate and reliable information when verifying our memories (Demiray & Bluck, 2011;Williams, Conway, & Cohen, 2008;Wilson & Ross, 2003). We also use autobiographical memory to solve current problems and to prepare for the future: research from several domains shows that memory plays a crucial role in the mental simulation of future events (Szpunar, 2010;Szpunar, Addis, & Schacter, 2012).…”