The interdisciplinary science of autobiographical memory

Abstract

To provide a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of autobiographical memory, WIREs Cognitive Science is launching a special issue gathering contributions from various perspectives in the field of autobiographical memory. To introduce this special issue, I outline the philosophy of this collaborative project and summarize the knowledge gained from each of the 12 articles included. Insights into the next important steps in studying autobiographical memory are also provided. As shown in this article, research on autobiographical memory covers a wide range of disciplines (e.g., neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, neurology, psychiatry). However, there has been little interdisciplinary dialogue between autobiographical memory scholars until recently. For the first time, this special issue brings together theoretical contributions that offer different yet complementary approaches to the study of autobiographical memory.