THEME 2: PART 1
Learning goals:
- How does culture affect the autobiographical (story of your life) memories of a person? With
respect to different factors, such as age and content?
- What are the differences as well as the similarities between cultures?
- Do mother-child conversations have an impact on past memories as well as future
predictions?
- What are the differences and similarities between cultures regarding mental time travel?
SIBLINGS AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
MEMORY
Normative vs elaborative style of memory
Normative style = Asian mother-child pairs have a normative style of memory, for example repeating
the same questions until the child gives the expected responses, resulting in brief memories.
Elaborative style = Western mother-child pairs have an elaborative style of talking about the past,
with detailed memory account of the children.
Children who were brought up with the elaborative style have earlier accounts of their first memory
and have more detailed memories with themselves as the central character.
, The Importance of Siblings
What appeared to be “cultural” differences may in fact be to some extent more appropriately
described as differences in ontogenetic environment. Such childhood conditions vary across cultures,
and specifically family consellations are not limited to one specific cultural setting.
For example, the introduction of the one-child policy in China has created a family setting that
deviates from traditional Chinese standards. The ones who grew up with younger siblings had a more
interdependent focus of their stories, possibly because there is not so much time for the parents to
talk to the children, the children with no siblings had an earlier memory and greater self-focus,
perhaps because parents have individual talks with the child. One-child policy has impacted the
Chinese participants as well, as the Chinese urban culture is being Westernized.
Only-children have been described as more egocentric, willful and selfish in comparison with
traditional Chinese standards and Chinese children growing up with siblings.
THE REMINISCENCE BUMP
The reminiscence bump is the increase in number of autobiographical memories from a certain
period of their life, as seen in the graph.
Why was it studies in terms of cultural differences?
Although the period of the reminiscence bump covers adolescence and early adulthood in Western
societies, it may not, however, correspond so precisely to adolescence and early adulthood in other
societies. In some Asian societies (Japan, China), entering adulthood happens when you reach about
Learning goals:
- How does culture affect the autobiographical (story of your life) memories of a person? With
respect to different factors, such as age and content?
- What are the differences as well as the similarities between cultures?
- Do mother-child conversations have an impact on past memories as well as future
predictions?
- What are the differences and similarities between cultures regarding mental time travel?
SIBLINGS AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
MEMORY
Normative vs elaborative style of memory
Normative style = Asian mother-child pairs have a normative style of memory, for example repeating
the same questions until the child gives the expected responses, resulting in brief memories.
Elaborative style = Western mother-child pairs have an elaborative style of talking about the past,
with detailed memory account of the children.
Children who were brought up with the elaborative style have earlier accounts of their first memory
and have more detailed memories with themselves as the central character.
, The Importance of Siblings
What appeared to be “cultural” differences may in fact be to some extent more appropriately
described as differences in ontogenetic environment. Such childhood conditions vary across cultures,
and specifically family consellations are not limited to one specific cultural setting.
For example, the introduction of the one-child policy in China has created a family setting that
deviates from traditional Chinese standards. The ones who grew up with younger siblings had a more
interdependent focus of their stories, possibly because there is not so much time for the parents to
talk to the children, the children with no siblings had an earlier memory and greater self-focus,
perhaps because parents have individual talks with the child. One-child policy has impacted the
Chinese participants as well, as the Chinese urban culture is being Westernized.
Only-children have been described as more egocentric, willful and selfish in comparison with
traditional Chinese standards and Chinese children growing up with siblings.
THE REMINISCENCE BUMP
The reminiscence bump is the increase in number of autobiographical memories from a certain
period of their life, as seen in the graph.
Why was it studies in terms of cultural differences?
Although the period of the reminiscence bump covers adolescence and early adulthood in Western
societies, it may not, however, correspond so precisely to adolescence and early adulthood in other
societies. In some Asian societies (Japan, China), entering adulthood happens when you reach about
