Remembering our Past: Studies in Autobiographical Memory

The recent attempt to move research in cognitive psychology out of the laboratory makes autobiographical memory appealing, because naturalistic studies can be done while maintaining empirical rigor. Many practical problems fall into the category of autobiographical memory, such as eyewitness testimony, survey research, and clinical syndromes in which there are distortions of memory. Its scope extends beyond psychology into law, medicine, sociology, and literature. Work on autobiographical memory has matured since David Rubin’s Autobiographical Memory appeared in 1986, and the timing is right for a new overview of the topic. Remembering our Past presents innovative research chapters and general reviews, covering such topics as emotions, eyewitness memory, false memory syndrome, and amnesia. The volume will appeal to graduate students and researchers in cognitive science and psychology.

• Up-to-date tutorials on key issues • By the major figures in the field • On a topic of broad interest

Introduction; 1. Introduction David C. Rubin; Part I. Approaches: 2. What is recollective memory? William F. Brewer; 3. Autobiographical knowledge and autobiographical memories Martin A. Conway; 4. Autobiographical remembering: narrative constraints on objectified selves Craig R. Barclay; Part II. Accuracy: 5. Time in autobiographical memory Steen F. Larsen, Charles P. Thompson and Tina Hansen; 6. The pliability of autobiographical memory: misinformation and the false memory problem Robert F. Belli and Elizabeth F. Loftus; 7. Autobiographical memory in court Willem A. Wagenaar; Part III. Emotions: 8. Perspective, meaning, and remembering John A. Robinson; 9. Emotional events and emotions in autobiographical memories Sven-Ake Christianson and Martin A. Safer; 10. Depression and the specificity of autobiographical memory J. M. G. Williams; Part IV. Social Functions: 11. Remembering as communication: a family recounts its past William Hirst and David Manier; 12. Group narrative as the cultural context of autobiography Jerome Bruner and Carol Fleisher Feldman; 13. Memories of college: the importance of specific educational episodes David B. Pillemer, Martha L. Picariello, Anneliesa Beebe Law and Jill S. Reichman; Part V. Development and Disruption: 14. Remembering, recounting, and reminiscing: the development of autobiographical memory in social context Robyn Fivush, Catherine Haden and Elaine Reese; 15. Intersecting meanings of reminiscence in adult development and aging Joseph M. Fitzgerald; 16. Schizophrenic delusion and the construction of autobiographical memory Alan D. Baddeley, Andrew Thornton, Siew Eng Chua and Peter McKenna.