The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development

• Ross, Josephine ^[1] ; Hutchison, Jacqui ^[2] ; Cunningham, Sheila J. ^[3]
  1. [1] University of Dundee
  2. [2] University of Aberdeen and Abertay University
  3. [3] Abertay University

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• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 91, Nº. 2, 2020, págs. 299-314
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article tests the hypothesis that self-development plays a role in the offset of childhood amnesia; assessing the importance of both the capacity to anchor a memory to the self-concept, and the strength of the self-concept as an anchor. This research demonstrates for the first time that the volume of 3- to 6-year old's specific autobiographical memories is predicted by both the volume of their self-knowledge, and their capacity for self-source monitoring within self-referencing paradigms (N = 186). Moreover, there is a bidirectional relation between self and memory, such that autobiographical memory mediates the link between self-source monitoring and self-knowledge. These predictive relations suggest that the self-memory system is active in early childhood.