Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story : New Perspectives on Narrative Identity

By integrating the fields of narrative identity and autobiographical memory research, this book explores how people construct their identities and understand their lives across time and cultural contexts. It will be of great interest to scholars, researchers and students seeking to gain fresh perspectives on life story psychology.

Answering the question 'How have you become the person you are today?' encourages people to build their narrative identity, referring to their ever-changing, internalized life story. Life stories are grounded in autobiographical memory and provide the basis for the experience of personhood; that is, the experience of being an individual with a past, present, and future in a certain culture at a certain time. Traditionally, researchers have approached the study of life story psychology either by focusing on autobiographical memories or through narratives of individual memories, life story chapters, or entire life narratives. This book is the first to bring these isolated approaches together to reveal new perspectives on how people construct their identities and understand their lives across time and cultural contexts. Featuring chapters by leading experts, it offers a thorough introduction to both approaches that enrich our understanding of life story psychology.