Cultural differences in retrieval of self-defining memories

Laura Jobson, Richard O'Kearney*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    42 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Australians and Asians were asked to provide autobiographical memories of events they believe shaped who they are as individuals (self-defining memories). The authors found the anticipated cultural differences for the memories' themes. Contrary to previous suggestions, however, elaboration of personal memories occurred equally for both groups and was dependent on the content of the memory. Australians provided more elaborate autonomous memories and Asians more elaborate relatedness memories. The findings indicate that elaborating personal memories may function to enhance the dominant self-focus.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)75-80
    Number of pages6
    JournalJournal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
    Volume39
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2008

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