The Importance of Friends in Autobiographical Memory

Relatedness is a complex issue and it has been argued that developmental perspectives should complement cross-cultural comparisons. We noticed that cross-cultural studies of autobiographical memories tend to focus on early childhood and thus family, leaving the role of friends and school less explored. Thus, we asked adolescent school-goers who still lived with their parents for a meaningful memory from each of the settings family, school, and friendship. In both samples analyzed so far (Norwegians, N=22, and Slovaks, N=40) participants chose friend memories that were recent and reportedly often rehearsed, family memories that were old and rarely rehearsed, and school memories that were in between on both variables. This supports theories of friendship as the primary social context for adolescent development. Moreover, content analysis found friend memories to mention others more often than the self, although not as pervasively as family memories. Results from a Danish sample (N=52) will be added.