Event characteristics help to explain the distribution of autobiographical memories over the first decade of life.

ABSTRACT

The shape of the distribution of autobiographical memories over the first decade of life is characterised by a paucity of memories from the early years followed by a gradual increase in the number of surviving memories. Though many events and experiences from this period are forgotten, some are well remembered. To better understand why certain memories survive, we examined characteristics of events recalled by young adolescents (12 - to 14-year-olds), sampled over their first decade of life, and whether they predict consistency in recall. Characteristics were assessed via third-party observer ratings of event narratives. Events with more negative emotional valence, lower frequency of occurrence, and that were culturally shared were more likely to be recalled. The details of events with less positive emotional valence, shorter duration, fewer changes in location, and less predictability were more consistently recalled. The characteristics of reported events were largely similar across the decade, with significant differences in the representation of event characteristics only between earliest memories (1-5 years) and later periods (6-10 years and the previous year). The findings suggest that event characteristics play a role in how consistently events are remembered and how memories are distributed over the first decade of life.