Development in the organization of episodic memories in middle childhood and adolescence

Event as the central construal of psychological time in humans

Time is a fundamental dimension of our perception and mental construction of reality. It enables resolving changes in our environment without a direct sensory representation of elapsed time. Therefore, the concept of time is inferential by nature, but the units of subjective time that provide meaningful segmentation of the influx of sensory input remain to be determined. In this review, we posit that events are the construal instances of time perception as they provide a reproducible and consistent segmentation of the content. In that light, we discuss the implications of this proposal by looking at "events" and their role in subjective time experience from cultural anthropological and ontogenetic perspectives, as well as their relevance for episodic memory. Furthermore, we discuss the significance of "events" for the two critical aspects of subjective time-duration and order. Because segmentation involves parsing event streams according to causal sequences, we also consider the role of causality in developing the concept of directionality of mental timelines. We offer a fresh perspective on representing past and future events before age 5 by an egocentric bi-directional timeline model before acquiring the allocentric concept of absolute time. Finally, we illustrate how the relationship between events and durations can resolve contradictory experimental results. Although "time" warrants a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach, we focus this review on "time perception", the experience of time, without attempting to provide an all encompassing overview of the rich philosophical, physical, psychological, cognitive, linguistic, and neurophysiological context.

The Long-Term Effect of Famine Exposure on Cognitive Performance: Evidence from the 1959-1961 Chinese Famine

We examined the long-term impact of the 1959-1961 Chinese Famine on the survivors' cognitive performance in this study. Using data from the 2010 China Family Panel Study, our cohort comparison analysis showed that people who experienced the famine in early childhood (aged 1-3) had a lower score on a vocabulary test and that those who were exposed to the famine in utero did not differ from those born after the famine, probably due to positive selection for the in utero survivors. To deal with the problem of the lack of a comparable control group, we further applied a migrant-stayer comparison approach, with data from the 2016 China Family Panel Study and the 2017 Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics, to examine the effects of famine exposure at different life stages on adult cognition. We compared the people who stayed in Guangdong with the people who crossed the border to Hong Kong before the famine. The results showed that Guangdong stayers who experienced the famine when they were aged 1-18 had worse performance in immediate word recall. The findings suggested that exposure to malnutrition during childhood has long-term adverse effects on cognitive performance.

Maternal Reminiscing and Autobiographical Memory Features of Mother-Child Dyads in a Cross-Cultural Context

Maternal reminiscing styles and mother-child memory features were examined in a cross-cultural context. Fifty-five Chinese (Guangzhou, China) and 48 Australian (Melbourne, Australia) mother-child dyads (child age: 3-6 years) independently retrieved autobiographical memories and jointly discussed past events. Australian mothers used greater elaborative and supportive reminiscing and provided more specific memories than Chinese mothers. Australian children provided greater memory elaboration than Chinese children, but they did not differ in memory specificity. Maternal reminiscing styles and cultural group were independently predictive of child memory elaboration but not specificity. Nonetheless, moderation analyses showed that the two maternal reminiscing styles (elaborative and supportive) interacted to predict child memory specificity. These findings indicate the importance of culture and types of reminiscing on memory development.

A review of adolescent autobiographical memory and the implications for assessment of unaccompanied minors' refugee determinations

The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) is increasing, and unlike those who arrive with their parents, UASC are subject to interview to determine refugee status. The limited amount of objective evidence available in most asylum claims means that the UASC's account of their experiences often becomes key in deciding whether or not the young person is granted protection. Research indicates that assumptions about human memory influence decision-makers' views on asylum seekers' accounts; however, these do not necessarily appear to fit with the published research on autobiographical memory and may lead to an unfair decision. Therefore, understanding the nature and limitations of autobiographical memory is key to a fair refugee determination process. A literature review of published research on autobiographical memory among adolescents was undertaken across four databases. In total, 45 papers were identified which were thematically organised into three areas: development of autobiographical memory, contextual influences and impact of psychopathology. From this review, conclusions are drawn about what can be reasonably expected of an adolescent's autobiographical memory generally and more specifically when the unique characteristics of UASC are taken into account. We also discusss how commonly used credibility indicators in refugee status determinations for minors are problematic in light of this research. It is important that the psychological evidence on the nature of autobiographical memory in adolescents is considered in asylum processing of UASC.

It's in the details: The role of selective discussion in forgetting of children's autobiographical memories

This experiment investigated whether retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) would be found in children's self-generated autobiographical memory recall. An adapted version of the RIF paradigm for adults' autobiographical memories was administered to 8- and 9-year-old children (N = 65). We hypothesized that RIF would be found in terms of both number of memories recalled and amount of memory detail reported. The relationship between memory detail at the retrieval practice phase and RIF magnitude was also investigated. Consistent with hypotheses, RIF was found for both the number of memories recalled and the amount of memory detail reported. In addition, memory detail at retrieval practice was associated with increased RIF magnitude. Findings extend the current literature in three ways. First, they indicate that selective discussion of autobiographical events with children can cause forgetting of similar non-discussed events. Second, even when these non-discussed events are recalled, they contain sparser memory detail. Finally, when events are selectively discussed in greater detail, forgetting of similar non-discussed events occurs to a greater extent.

"What" and "where" was when? Memory for the temporal order of episodic events in children

In the past, researchers have shown that the individual components of episodic memory (i.e "what," "where," and "when") may emerge at different points in development. Specifically, while children as young as three can accurately report the "what" and "where" of an event, they struggle to accurately report when the event occurred. One explanation for children's difficulty in reporting when an event took place is a rudimentary understanding, and ability to use, temporal terms. In the current experiment, we employed a physical timeline to aid children's reporting of the order in which a series of episodic events occurred. Overall, while 4-, 5-, and 6-year olds performed above chance, 3-year olds did not. Our findings suggest that 3-year olds' limited ability to produce temporal terms may not be the rate-limiting step preventing them from identifying when events occurred in their recent past.

Telling the Tale and Living Well: Adolescent Narrative Identity, Personality Traits, and Well-Being Across Cultures

This study explored links between narrative identity, personality traits, and well-being for 263 adolescents (age 12-21) from three New Zealand cultures: Māori, Chinese, and European. Turning-point narratives were assessed for autobiographical reasoning (causal coherence), local thematic coherence, emotional expressivity, and topic. Across cultures, older adolescents with higher causal coherence reported better well-being. Younger adolescents with higher causal coherence instead reported poorer well-being. Personal development topics were positively linked to well-being for New Zealand European adolescents only, and thematic coherence was positively linked to well-being for Māori adolescents only. Negative expressivity, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness were also linked to well-being. Implications of these cultural similarities and differences are considered for theories of narrative identity, personality, and adolescent well-being.

Autobiographical Periods: A Review and Central Components of a Theory

Autobiographical periods refer to subjectively defined life periods with perceived beginnings and endings, including information about the people, places, activities, and objects associated with the period. Autobiographical periods are serial, parallel, and hierarchical and are associated with specific and categoric memories. Individuals construct autobiographical periods for the future and have knowledge of periods in other people's lives. The review shows that (a) autobiographical periods may facilitate the recall of specific memories; (b) specific memories from the beginning and end of autobiographical periods are more often recalled compared with specific memories from other time points; (c) autobiographical periods are used to place specific memories in time; (d) autobiographical periods play an important role in the construction of life stories; and (e) autobiographical periods are related to personality traits and well-being. The central components of a theory of autobiographical periods are outlined. Thinking of life as extended time periods is suggested to be the central process through which autobiographical periods are constructed. Sociocultural processes, experience, and goals are assumed to inform life period thinking, and thus the construction of autobiographical periods.

Contextualizing the self: the emergence of a biographical understanding in adolescence

In adolescence, remembering the personal past and understanding what kind of person one is intertwine to form a story of one's life as the most extant, informative, and flexible form of self-representation. In adolescence, the striving for self-coherence translates into a quest for global coherence of the life story. We suggest that contextualizing is a fifth means for creating global coherence in life narratives besides the cultural concept of biography, temporal, causal-motivational, and thematic coherence. We present three kinds of contextualizing in life narratives, the temporal macrostructure, sociohistorical contextualizing of one's life, and hierarchical and linear segmenting of the text and life. These three forms of contextualizing in life narratives by their authors are complemented by three forms of contextual influences on life narratives analyzed by researchers, namely the historical, personal, and communicative situation in which they are recounted. Contextualizing is exemplified by the life narrative of a young migrant.