Reminiscence Bumps in Personal and Vicarious Memories: Older Adults’ Recollections of Parent–Child Memory Sharing
Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2024 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Publication Date: 2024
- Doi Number: 10.1037/mac0000200
- Journal Name: Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
- Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
- Keywords: autobiographical memory, parent–child memory sharing, reminiscence bump, subjective well-being, vicarious memory
- TED University Affiliated: No
Abstract
Vicarious memories, in which individuals recall events experienced by others, may have similar properties to personal memories. Two studies explored characteristics of memories shared between parents and their offspring. A key question was whether vicarious memories would form a reminiscence bump, clustering disproportionately in adolescence and early adulthood. In Study 1, 147 older adults (current Mage = 68.0 years) reported personal memories that they had shared with their child (current Mage = 44.5 years) and personal memories that their child had shared with them. Prominent reminiscence bumps were evident for both kinds of memories. Vicarious and personal memory qualities correlated similarly with well-being and relationship closeness. In Study 2, 149 adults (Mage = 47.3) imagined hypothetical events a 70-year-old had shared with their child, and vice versa. Reminiscence bumps for hypothetical events mirrored Study 1 memory distributions. The observed similarities between vicarious and personal memories have theoretical and practical implications.