The Stories We Keep: Autobiographical Memory in American and Chinese Middle‐Aged Adults

TLDR

The study examines autobiographical memory within cultural contexts, focusing on its self‑definitional and directive functions. A questionnaire study of 108 European American and Chinese adults aged 38–60 had each recall 20 memories, which were analyzed by culture, life period, and gender. Americans recalled more individual, one‑time events emphasizing personal roles and emotions, whereas Chinese recalled more social and historical events, stressing social interactions and moral lessons, with both groups showing age‑related increases in autonomous and social orientations.

Abstract

One hundred and eight European American and Chinese adults, aged between 38 and 60, participated in this questionnaire study. They each recalled 20 memories from any period of their lives. Memory content was analyzed as a function of culture (U.S. and China), life period (childhood, youth, early midlife, and peak midlife), and gender (female and male). Across the four life periods, Americans provided more memories of individual experiences and unique, one-time events and focused on their own roles and emotions. In contrast, Chinese were more inclined to recall memories of social and historical events and placed a great emphasis on social interactions and significant others in their memory narratives. Chinese also more frequently drew upon past events to convey moral messages than did Americans. In addition, memory content evidenced age-related increases in both autonomous and social orientations. Findings are discussed in light of the self-definitional and directive functions of Autobiographical memory in the context of culture.