Question

How do autobiographical memories change across the lifespan? That is, what is the relationship between one’s ability to remember a particular event and the age at which that event occurred? In your answer, discuss the reminiscence bump and the various theories purported to explain it, as well as the experimental evidence that supports each theory.

Answer 1

Ans- In an individual's life, some episodes are recollected in-memory system. They are based on the combination of personal experiences, some objects, some people, some events at a particular place and time and some facts about the world. Autobiography memory constructed within a self memory system. The vents are recalled by senses like touch, hearing, kinesthetic, smell, vision. It changes according to the age of a person, sex, gender, personal experiences of a person in his/her life, social interactions and cultural differences of people.

The relationship between one’s ability to remember a particular event and the age at which that event occurred is based on the importance of that event. For Example: At the age of 19 you had a breakup with your boyfriend of 2 years. you thought that you will never get out of it but after 10,20,30 years you forgot those memories as many more new events will happen in your life. some events are less important and some vents are more important so this is an associated shift in memories of these events happened in our life.

Reminiscence bump is the tendency of enhanced recollection of events that happened in adolescence and early adulthood, which happens to the people of above 40 years of age