ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of culture and self-construals in autobiographical memory development, with particular attention to mother-child reminiscing. Previous literature has demonstrated systematic findings regarding the characteristics of mother-child dyads that bear on children’s memory performance and are associated with differences in the construction of the self. We discuss the state of the field in terms of how self-construal is best conceptualized and include recent findings from studies of children in Turkey, Iran, and Colombia. We note the importance of both individual differences within cultures and cross-cultural differences in self-construal, along with other factors, in explaining effects on mothers’ reminiscing style and autobiographical memory.
