Understanding Autobiographical Memory: Theories and Approaches

Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 9/27/2012
EAN 9780521189330, ISBN10: 0521189330

Paperback, 380 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
Language: English

The field of autobiographical memory has made dramatic advances since the first collection of papers in the area was published in 1986. Now, over 25 years on, this book reviews and integrates the many theories, perspectives, and approaches that have evolved over the last decades. A truly eminent collection of editors and contributors appraise the basic neural systems of autobiographical memory; its underlying cognitive structures and retrieval processes; how it develops in infancy and childhood, and then breaks down in aging; its social and cultural aspects; and its relation to personality and the self. Autobiographical memory has demonstrated a strong ability to establish clear empirical generalizations, and has shown its practical relevance by deepening our understanding of several clinical disorders - as well as the induction of false memories in the legal system. It has also become an important topic for brain studies, and helped to enlarge our general understanding of the brain.

1. Introduction Dorthe Berntsen and David C. Rubin
Part I. Approaches to the Study of Autobiographical Memory
2. The basic systems model of autobiographical memory David C. Rubin
3. Identity, emotion, and the social matrix of autobiographical memory
a psychoanalytic narrative view Tilmann Habermas
4. On the nature of autobiographical memory Martin A. Conway and Laura Jobson
5. Reflections on autobiographical memory Alan Baddeley
Part II. Neural Studies of Autobiographical Memory
6. The contribution of research on autobiographical memory to past and present theories of memory consolidation Morris Moscovitch
7. Functional neuroimaging of autobiographical memory Peggy L. St Jacques
Part III. Social and Cultural Aspects of Autobiographical Memory
8. Of sins and virtues
memory and collective identity William Hirst, Alexandra Cuc and Dana Wohl
9. Historically defined autobiographical periods
their origins and implications Norman R. Brown, Tia G. B. Hansen, Peter J. Lee, Sarah A. Vanderveen and Fredrick G. Conrad
10. Directive functions of autobiographical memory
theory and method David B. Pillemer and Kie J. Kuwabara
Part IV. Development of Autobiographical Memory from Infancy to Old Age
11. The life I once remembered
the waxing and waning of early memories Patricia J. Bauer
12. Subjective perspective and personal timeline in the development of autobiographical memory Robyn Fivush
13. Theory and research in autobiographical memory
a life-span developmental perspective Joseph M. Fitzgerald and Carissa L. Broadbridge
Part V. Evolution and Basic Processes of Autobiographical Memory
14. Evolutionary origins of autobiographical memory
a retrieval hypothesis Merlin Donald
15. Spontaneous recollections
involuntary autobiographical memories are a basic mode of remembering Dorthe Berntsen
16. Autobiographical memory and future thinking Arnaud D'Argembeau
Part VI. Discussion
17. Understanding autobiographical memory
an ecological theory Dorthe Berntsen and David C. Rubin.

Advance praise: 'This collection of essays on autobiographical memory is superb, presenting both historical perspectives and cutting-edge research. The volume is essential reading for cognitive psychologists and would make a fine set of readings for a seminar on autobiographical memory.' Henry L. Roediger, III, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Washington University, St Louis