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Cultural life scripts structure recall from autobiographical memory.

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Date
2004-04
Authors
Berntsen, Dorthe
Rubin, David C
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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 article
Subject
Adult
Aged
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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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10111
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Scholars@Duke

Rubin

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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