Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book proposes the idea that autobiographical memory is a uniquely human ability and describes how autobiographical experiences contribute to the formation of self. It presents findings from functional neuroimaging research that reflects empirical knowledge about the link between neural structure and behavioral function. The book focuses on the types of narrative coding methods that are prevalently employed in autobiographical memory research. It explores the dating of and the systematic dating errors in the earliest childhood memories and discusses these errors as a function of recollection and dating processes, as well as culture and parent-child interaction. The book examines the emotionally charged memory conversations of mother–father–child triads and discusses the role of children’s gender as well as parents’ socialization-related attitudes in these triadic memory conversations.