Functions of autobiographical memory in mother-adolescent reminiscing about emotionally charged events

Elibol-Pekaslan N., ŞAHİN ACAR B., Leichtman M. D.

Cognitive Development, cilt.78, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 78
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2026.101672
  • Dergi Adı: Cognitive Development
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Psycinfo, DIALNET
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Adolescence, Autobiographical memory, Emotion, Memory functions, Mother-child conversation
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Memory functions––or the reasons people reminisce––have primarily been studied retrospectively using self-report. In the current study, memory functions were coded directly from emotionally charged conversations between mothers and their adolescents. One hundred and eight Turkish mother-adolescent pairs (M adolescent age 15 years; 1 month) talked about three one-point-in-time events they had experienced together, cued by distinct emotions (sadness, anger, happiness); each utterance was coded using a coding scheme reflecting known functions (social, self, directive). The frequency of memory functions was evaluated by conversation participant, emotion cue, and adolescents’ gender. Self-function was predominant among adolescents, with social and directive functions predominant among mothers. Different patterns of functions across emotions were apparent. Results are discussed in view of prior work on memory functions and cultural contexts of reminiscing.