Autobiographical memory encompasses memory for significant personal experiences and knowledge of the self and, consequently, is critical for personal identity and psychological well-being. This project integrates experimental and longitudinal approaches to examine cultural and individual mechanisms underlying autobiographical memory development in middle childhood. This age period, while generally neglected in the field of memory research, is critical for the development of advanced autobiographical memory skills for detailed, well-structured, and accurate remembering. Children and their mothers from European American families, Chinese families in China, and first-generation Chinese immigrant families in the U.S. will participate. Three home interviews will be arranged for each child between 6 and 8 years of age, where children's developing autobiographical memory will be assessed in relation to their narrative skills, self-concept, metamemory, temporal concepts, and cultural knowledge. Mothers' cultural beliefs will be assessed through surveys. A staged event will be conducted at the first interview and children's memory of the event will be assessed for content, amount, and accuracy at later time points. To delineate the contribution of parental reminiscing behavior to children's memory, experimentally planned mother-child reminiscing will take place between the first two interviews, with mothers in the experimental group being trained to share memories with their children in an elaborative style.
The project will make a unique contribution to current theories by examining both individual and cultural parameters on memory development. It will further provide new insights into the multi-faceted processes and outcomes of children's developing autobiographical memory skills, and fill in the theoretical and empirical gap concerning autobiographical memory development in middle childhood. Because autobiographical memory is constructed through the child's knowledge of the world and of the self and the memory, in turn, constitutes the child's identity, personality, and psychological well-being, the findings will have the potential to inform research and clinical practices regarding issues that emerge during middle childhood, such as eating disorders and depression. Furthermore, situated in a cross-cultural context, the findings will inform parenting, educational practices, and real life settings in contemporary American society where there are an increasing number of immigrant populations, as well as in the current global context that calls for intercultural exchanges and understanding.
