Cultural life scripts structure recall from autobiographical memory.
Abstract
Three classes of evidence demonstrate the existence of life scripts, or culturally
shared representations of the timing of major transitional life events. First, a reanalysis
of earlier studies on age norms shows an increase in the number of transitional events
between the ages of 15 and 30 years, and these events are associated with narrower
age ranges and more positive emotion than events outside this period. Second, 1,485
Danes estimated how old hypothetical centenarians were when they had been happiest,
saddest, most afraid, most in love, and had their most important and most traumatic
experiences. Only the number of positive events showed an increase between the ages
of 15 and 30 years. Third, undergraduates generated seven important events that were
likely to occur in the life of a newborn. Pleasantness and whether events were expected
to occur between the ages of 15 and 30 years predicted how frequently events were
recorded. Life scripts provide an alternative explanation of the reminiscence bump.
Emphasis is on culture, not individuals.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdultAged
Aged, 80 and over
Autobiography as Topic
Cues
Culture
Female
Humans
Life Change Events
Male
Memory
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Random Allocation
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Perception
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
David C. Rubin
Juanita M. Kreps Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
For .pdfs of all publications click here My main research interest has been in
long-term memory, especially for complex (or "real-world") stimuli. This work includes
the study of autobiographical memory and oral tra

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