Wj. Friedman et Pa. Dewinstanley, CHANGES IN THE SUBJECTIVE PROPERTIES OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME, Memory, 6(4), 1998, pp. 367-381
This study was an investigation of how the subjective properties of au
tobiographical memories change over time. Over the 25 weeks after Than
ksgiving, undergraduates rated the quality of their memories for Thank
sgiving dinner on three global scales and six other scales referring t
o specific kinds of information (conversations, people, food, and clot
hing). Global ratings declined rapidly in the first 12 weeks but showe
d little change in the subsequent 12 weeks. The highest ratings and th
e least decline were found for information that could be reconstructed
from general knowledge of Thanksgivings (food and people present). Ra
tings for non-schematic information showed patterns of decline consist
ent with previous studies and with humans' ability to discriminate the
temporal distances of past events.