ABSTRACT
The major developmental transition in the preschool years can be viewed as a move toward a social-cultural-linguistic self in society This transition to a new level of social-cognitive consciousness is apparent in major shifts between the 2-and 5-year-old levels of functioning in myriads of situations, experimental and everyday, that are now well documented in the developmental literature. How the emerging capacity for autobiographical memory narratives contributes to the newly emerging concept of self during this period is the theme of this chapter. The theoretical framework builds on previous work (Nelson, 1996, 2000b, in press), while the discussion here relates the theory to current work on autobiography and the development of self understanding. I use the term self understanding in preference to self concept here to emphasize changes in how self is constructed and understood as development proceeds.
