AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY

The present paper provides a working model for studying the developmen t of autobiographical memory. The model is based on an integration of literatures concerning (1) children's metacognitive capacities, (2) th e social construction of personal narratives, and (3) the development of the self-concept. By age 3, children possess the metacognitive unde rstanding that knowledge of an event depends upon personal experience with that event and an awareness of the mental state of remembering. T hese representational capacities may allow children to understand that they are remembering an event because they personally experienced it, and thus ''tag'' memories for potential entry into autobiographical m emory. The model outlines ways in which these representational capacit ies may also contribute to children's ability to engage in the social construction of personal narratives. Further, the model specifies that the emergence of autobiographical memory requires an organized, psych ological self-concept. Factors that affect the autobiographical memory system, but may not be essential for its ontogeny, are (1) the abilit y to engage in source monitoring and (2) particular parental styles of discussing the past. Thus, the present paper emphasizes the need for an integrated approach for studying the emergence of autobiographical memory. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.