Building Your Life Story, One Memory at a Time

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Autobiographical memory, or your recall of events from your life, is a part and parcel of your sense of identity. The experiences you’ve had up to the present time shape your ideas about yourself now, and will, in turn, shape your future decisions and life events. How would you define yourself without the knowledge of your personal past? Some of those memories are understandably dim, especially those from early childhood. However, as you grew through your teenage years and beyond, it is hard to imagine thinking about yourself without those formative experiences.

At times, you may find yourself reflecting back on those earlier life events. Perhaps you attended a performance put on by local high school students, which instantly brought you back to your own days as a sophomore. You know you’ve changed substantially, but in some ways, your sense of self still defines you as the person you are today. For better or worse, you would not be the same person you are now if you hadn’t gone through those earlier times.

The Reminiscence Bump

The study of autobiographical memory in psychology is directly tied to questions about identity or sense of self and how recall of one’s personal past affects their well-being in the present. As part of their investigations of this fascinating area, researchers identified a phenomenon that continues to be replicated, that of the “reminiscence bump” (Rubin et al., 1998). The “bump” in this term refers to the finding that the memories older adults have of their early adult years are the clearest of all of those they have in their entire lives, including the recent past.

Several theories attempt to explain why this pronounced recall of early adulthood exists at all. One view is that these events occur during the period of life in which people are exploring identity choices, making them more distinct than those events that played out after those choices were made and acted upon. See if this theory fits with your own recall of your past. How clearly do you remember the day you accepted your first job offer? How clearly, in contrast, do you remember the details of the subsequent five years once you were on the job?

Setting these questions aside, Georgia Institute of Technology’s Hsiao-Wen Liao and colleagues (2024) decided to investigate the adaptive functions of the reminiscence bump. It’s possible, they argue, that there is value in massaging those events from your early adulthood as you think about your current life. Specifically, the more you feel that the events in your “bump” were ones you could control, the more likely it is that thinking about them brings you satisfaction.

Testing the Reminiscence Bump Control Theory

The Georgia Tech-led study collected responses from 765 participants (ages 49-90) from the European Study on Adult Well-Being (ESAW) to a life story recall task. The “Life Story Matrix” measure is an easy one you could complete yourself. Simply list the 15 most personally important events of your life (using a phrase to describe each one). Record your age at the time, and then rate each event for the degree of control you feel you had over it.

The ages of the bump identified in the ESAW sample in previous research was 21-30, exactly what the original theory would predict (what was yours?). Liao and the research team classified the events from their current participants into “bump” (21-30) vs. “non-bump” (any other time) events. On average, the sample recorded 2.37 of the bump and 5.89 of the non-bump events, with slightly more (3.19) occurring after the bump period. However, consistent with prior research, the bump events received higher ratings on positive valence.

To measure perceived control, the research team asked participants to rate how much, on a 1 to 5 scale, they believed they were able to influence the event. In addition to rating their life satisfaction, participants also rated their views about personal control. The four questions on this scale included the following; try rating yourself on a 1-4 scale for each.

1. When I make plans I am almost certain to make them work.
2. I can learn almost anything if I set my mind to it.
3. When I get what I want it’s usually because I worked hard for it.
4. My major accomplishments are entirely due to my hard work and ability.

Turning to the findings, it was only for the reminiscence bump period that perceived control over the past contributed to life satisfaction. As the authors concluded, “adults who sense that they were in control of important events, particularly in their youth, may be able to give themselves credit for their youthful mastery over life milestones.” Conversely, those who regarded their past events as “haphazard” are less likely to feel that they had agency about being able to “make it happen” (p. 236).

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These findings, however, were true for adults in midlife rather than individuals in the later life period within the age range of the study. There are several explanations for this finding, and although the authors didn’t suggest it, it is possible that the specific control-related memories for older adults may have simply faded with time or be clouded by intervening experiences, making it hard to massage them in accordance with the instructions. A difference of 50-60 vs. 20-30 years could certainly play a role in this feature of autobiographical memory.

Building Your Own Life Story

Knowing that the events of your past life help define the person you are right now is, in and of itself, useful to know. Without literally living in the past or pretending that you’re 30 or 40 years younger, there can be value in reliving some of your most distinctive personal memories.

Additionally, however, with that factor of control entered into the equation, it may be helpful to dig back into some of the past events that met the criteria of being haphazard. Economic conditions or hardship could have led you to apply not for the job you wanted, but the job you had to take. As painful as it is to think about the unfairness of the situation, you may benefit instead from reflecting on the direction that choice eventually took you in life. If you are in the older age group, try first to bring events from your formative years into clearer focus and then work on reimagining them as ones you had mastery over.

Because life events unfold in a sequential manner, with one evolving from another, there could be positive aspects even to those events that didn’t express your identity or fit with your wishes about how they could have been different. You undoubtedly met people you would not have met otherwise, possibly even your current romantic partner. Without that partner, you might not have had the children you now have in your family. The list of possible outcomes is virtually endless.

To sum up, taking control of your life as you develop your life story can be a process that both enhances your satisfaction and helps round out your sense of well-being. Fulfillment in life can come from many possible pathways, but all those you have taken are what make you the person you are today.