Abstract
Personal histories are a primary form of organization in autobiographical memory. They organize temporally distributed experience into thematically-related “streams”. First experience stories are a useful source for identifying the kinds of histories commonly constructed in our society. Two types of histories are examined: histories of skill development and relationship histories. The primary function of first experience memories is structural: they organize histories into distinctive units and establish their causaltemporal sequence. First experiences are also utilized in retrospective and prospective evaluations of self and experience. Some histories are more culturally salient than others. Memories of firsts associated with those histories can indicate the extent to which personal meaning is derived from cultural models, and whether that is a deforming or informing influence. Study of personal histories can provide useful clues about the respective contributions of memory and narrative in organizing experience.
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Robinson, J.A. (1992). First Experience Memories: Contexts and Functions in Personal Histories. In: Conway, M.A., Rubin, D.C., Spinnler, H., Wagenaar, W.A. (eds) Theoretical Perspectives on Autobiographical Memory. NATO ASI Series, vol 65. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7967-4_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7967-4_13
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