Accuracy and reconstruction in autobiographical memory: (Re)consolidating neuroscience and sociocultural developmental approaches.

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101524169 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1939-5086 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19395078 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [Malden, MA] : John Wiley & Sons

Memory, Episodic* ; Neurosciences*; Humans ; Adult ; Child ; Communication ; Mental Recall

Autobiographical memories are never isolated episodes; they are embedded in a network that is continually updated and prediction driven. We present autobiographical memory as a meaning-driven process that includes both veridical traces and reconstructive schemas. Our developmental approach delineates how autobiographical memory develops across childhood and throughout adulthood, and our sociocultural approach examines the ways in which autobiographical memories are shaped by everyday social interactions embedded within cultural worldviews. These approaches are enhanced by a focus on autobiographical memory functions, namely self-coherence, social embeddedness, and directing future behaviors. Neuroscience models of memory outlined in multiple trace and trace transformation theories and perceptual principles of predictive processing establish mechanisms and frameworks into which autobiographical memory processes are incorporated. Rather than conceptualizing autobiographical and episodic memories as accurate versus error-prone, we frame memory as a dynamic process that is continuously updated to create coherent meaning for individuals living in complex sociocultural worlds. Autobiographical memory is a process of both accuracy and error, an intricate weaving of specific episodic details, inferences and confusions among similar experiences; it incorporates post-event information through reminiscing and conversations, in the service of creating more meaningful coherent memories that define self, others, and the world. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Memory.
(© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Keywords: autobiographical memory; personal narratives; predictive processing; reconsolidation

Date Created: 20220920 Date Completed: 20230522 Latest Revision: 20230522

20231215

10.1002/wcs.1620

36125799