Culture, autobiographical memory and self. Formal schooling as a
sociocultural activity.
Manuel de la Mata Benítez
Andrés Santamaría. Santigosa
Tia G. B. Hansen
Lucía Ruiz-Ramos
Marcia L. Ruiz Cansino
Extended summary
Formal education is a fundamental setting for socialization, transmission and
recreation of social values. Since the Enlightenment, education and citizenship are
closely related in Western societies. During the whole period of Modernity, formal
education has become a milestone for the construction of democratic societies.
The role of formal education as an institution promoting citizenship can be
observed in different aspects:
- In its relation with the acquisition and development of “rational” or “formal” ways
of thinking.
- For its contribution to the development of the notion of individual that is
characteristic of modernity: the citizen. This means the construction and
development of personal and cultural identities, as well as set of values according to
this notion of citizen.
With regard to the first issue, a considerable volume of (cross-) cultural research
about categorization, memory, reasoning and problem solving processes showing the
relationship between formal education and these processes does exist (Luria, 1979;
Sharp, Cole & Lave, 1979; Scribner & Cole, 1981; Cole, 1990, 1996; Rogoff, 1990;
Cubero & de la Mata, 2005, in press). As a whole, these data have been interpreted as
demonstrating that formal education promotes ways of thinking called “academic
concepts” (Vygotsky, 1987), theoretical argumentation (Scribner, 1992) or propositional
thought (Bruner, 1986, 1990). These ways of thinking can be considered as the result of
the use of decontextualized mediational means, in the sense that objects and events are
represented in terms of formal, logical and, if possible, quantifiable) (Wertsch, 1985,
1991). These categories are decontextualized to the extent that its meaning can be
derived from the place they occupy in abstract systems, regardless the particular context
of speech (Wertsch, 1991). This is what Wertsch calls the voice (the social language) of
instrumental rationality.
The influence of formal education on mental processes does not seem to be the
only one that this institution and the cultural practices associated exert. In this sense,
from the social sciences, in general, and from psychology itself it is claimed that literacy
and formal education have placed and play a fundamental role in the constitution of the
modern subject (Olson, 1994; Ramírez, 1995). So, for example, Olson (1994) claims
that the modern mind is constituted since Descartes and authors like Hume, Berkeley
and Kant and the ideal of the Enlightenment. In these authors we found a notion of an
autonomous subject, whose acts are governed by reason and, as a quality of a mind
populated with ideas, beliefs, desires, memories…For Olson, these notions of subject
and mind are related to the cultural changes that arose in the Western world since the
extension of literacy at the beginning of Modernity (linked to the Protestant Reform and
the origins of capitalism). More specifically, Olson claims that literacy and literate
practices permitted the separation of things and their representations, so that thinking
becomes an “autonomous” activity about the world, in other words, an “epistemic”
activity, and mind as an object defined by mental states
Since the beginning, thus, literacy is associated to the formation of the notion of
individual and citizen that is characteristic of Modernity. It is not surprising, then, the
emphasis on literacy in countries and situations in which political initiatives of creation
of citizenship have been developed.
With regard to psychology, this issue has not received the attention that it
requires, in our opinion. However, we may mention some data that we consider of
interest in this respect:
- Cross-cultural studies by Luria (1979) evidences the difficulties experienced by
illiterate peasants from Uzbekistan to define themselves as individuals, regardless
their groups of belongingness (family, village…).
- Recent data from cross-cultural psychology shows differences in the construal of
self characteristics of different cultures. So, for instance, Anglo-American and
Northern and Central European cultures may focus on individual, demonstrating an
independent self-construal. This independent self is considered as a separate and
autonomous entity, defined by a unique repertoire of traits, capacities, though and
feeling. Asian cultures, in contrast, tend to emphasize a collective or interdependent
self, experienced as apart of a social web (Cross & Markus, 1999; Markus &
Kitayama, 1991; Kagitçibasi, 1996, 2005). These differences in the emphasis on
independence vs. interdependence are evidenced in diverse aspect of the self, as the
experience and expression of emotions, cognitive processes, attributions and moral
reasoning or achievement motivation, among others (Kagitçibasi, 1997, 2005).
With respect to the above ideas, it is interesting to note the predominance of an
independent self-construal in cultures from Central and Northern Europe, where the
Protestant Reform took place. In these cultures, a greater development of literate
culture has been observed. However, the links between these two questions are to be
elaborated both theoretically and empirically..
- Studies developed in our country by members of our research group show the
existence of a relationship between formal education and some aspects of cultural
identities (Macías, Marco & García, 2005), attitudes and values (Cala, 1999) and
gender identities (Cala & de la Mata, 2006). In general, we may state that these
studies show the use of different identification acts that posses an argumentative and
rhetoric character depending on the educational level of the individuals. People with
more schooling experience use more decontextualized semiotic tools and forms of
argumentation based on establishing general relations between classes of objects.
The forms of identification of the people with a short schooling experience are
usually supported on narratives of concrete everyday experiences. These narratives
are referred to the speaker or acquaintances (Cala, 1999). These results have been
interpreted in terms of the relationship between formal education and the discourse
modes that characterize instrumental rationality.
Anyway, although the effects of formal education on cognitive processes
(memory, categorization, and reasoning and problem-solving) are relatively well
established in (cross-)cultural research, and despite the data mentioned above, we think
that it is necessary to investigate this issues further.
Autobiographical memory is defined as memory for the facts and events of
personal meaningful past (Conway, 1990; Rubin, 1986; Rubin, 1999; Conway &
Pleydell-Pearce, 2000; Nelson, 2003). Autobiographical memory is related to the self,
and to the experience of personhood, that is, to the experience of enduring as an
individual, in a culture, over time.
In fact, self and autobiographical memory construct each other, as, on the one
hand, personal memories are cognitively organized around the and, on the other hand,
the self cannot exist as a continuous across time without the existence of personal
memories organized in subjective time. We may say that autobiographical memory
allows us be in time.
Both elements, self and autobiographical memory constitute each other by means
of a third element that is present since the very beginning: narrative. Thus, we assume
that autobiographical memory can be conceived as self-making narrative (Bruner, 1990,
2003; McAdams, 2003), a narrative in which individual’s life is reconstructed.
Therefore, narrative can be considered the raw material (or, rather, the tools) that permit
the existence of a memory that is more than a mere collection of isolated facts and
events, on the one hand, and of a self (perceived as) continuous and coherent. It is, in
sum, a discursive construction that is mediated, as any narrative, by semiotic tools that
the individual appropriates across his/her life. (Santamaría & Martínez, 2005).
The appropriation of semiotic tools is related to the participation in different
socio-cultural settings. These semiotic tools are taken from the social discourses that
people is exposed to (values, gender roles and stereotypes…) and from the discourses of
relatives and acquaintances (the transactions with significant others).
Research in the last years has evidenced cultural differences in autobiographical
memory (Wang & Brockmeier, 2002; Leitchman, Wang & Pillemer, 2003; Nelson &
Fivush, 2004, Fivush & Nelson, 2006). These differences are consistent with differences
observed in self construal between cultures (Leichtman, Wang & Pillemer, 2003).
Observed differences concern to different aspects, like the age at the first memories the
length and the elaboration (including emotions), the content (in relation to autonomy
and connectedness) and the characters (self and other) involved.
To explain these differences, several mechanisms of cultural influence have been
proposed (Leitchman, Wang & Pillemer, 2003):
- Narrative environment.. Differences in topic and style in adult-child
conversations have been found. These differences influence the nature of
autobiographical memories (Fivush, Haden & Reese, 2006; Fivush, 2007).
- Self-construal (Wang, 2001a). Differences in the degree in which culture
promotes an independent vs. interdependent (Markus & Kitayama, 1991) or
enhance autonomy vs. relatedness (Kagitçibasi, 1996, 2005; Keller, 2007; Keller
et al., 2004) influence the way in which individuals in these cultures remember
their lives.
- Emotion situation knowledge. (Wang, 2003; Wang & Fivush, 2005). Different
cultures differ in their understanding of emotions, especially in the consideration
of what emotions are appropriate for each situation. In this sense, the emotional
meaning assigned to an event affects to all memory processes:
- Beliefs about the personal past. Different value systems associated with cultural
orientations towards independence vs. interdependence (and other cultural
orientations) gives rise to differences in the beliefs and meaning about the
personal past. These differences influence individuals’ willingness and facility to
remember autobiographical events and the way of doing it (Leicthman et al.,
2003).
The number of studies about the relationship between autobiographical memory
and culture is, however, limited. In general, they have focused on American and Asian
(Chinese, Korean, Japanese) cultures. There are no studies with Mediterranean, LatinAmerican, Muslim or East European cultures.
Cultural differences in autobiographical memory and self overlap with gender
differences in both processes. In this field, most researchers have found a higher
tendency to interdependence and connection in women than in men. The predominant
way in which men see themselves stress personal achievement and independence
(Chodorow, 1989). These differences are observed in a variety of cultures (Costa,
Terracciano & McCrae, 2001) and are consistent with the data from studies comparing
women and men in autobiographical memory. Women’s memories are usually earlier
and evidence a richer and more complex emotional content than men’s. In this sense,
two narrative styles are employed by mothers and fathers when they interact with their
sons and daughters and co-construct past events (more or less elaborative) (Fivush,
Haden & Reese, 2006; Fivush, 2007).
An important factor for explaining the differences between males and females in
autobiographical memory is the different forms of socialization for boys and girls
(Davis, 1999). A special emphasis is put on the socialization of emotions, given the
important emotional load of autobiographical memory and the fact that differences
usually appear in the cases in which the emotional dimension of narratives was taken
into account. Another aspect in which differences have been found is that of the themes
of autobiographical memories. In women there is a general predominance of themes
associated to interpersonal relations (“communion”), while personal achievement was
the predominate theme in males (Niedzwienska, 2003). On the other hand, the
relationship between culture and gender is quite complex. Some studies have
emphasized the need to study in depth the way in which these two factors interact in
people from different cultures (Hayne & Macdonald, 2003).
In a previous study about autobiographical memory, self and culture (de la Mata
et al., 2008), we have analyzed the earliest memory and self descriptions of college
students from Denmark, Spain and Mexico. Although there are not many studies about
self construal in these countries, it is assumed that the Danish culture is characterized by
a relatively high level of individualism, the Mexican culture by a higher level of
collectivism, while the Spanish culture can be considered to be in an intermediate level
(Hofstede, 1984, 2003).
In this study, a replication of Wang’s methodology and categories of analysis was
applied. The procedure consisted of two tasks:
1)
A written narrative of the earliest memory, with questions about accessibility
and emotions.
2)
A shortened version of the Twenty Statements Test (TST) (Kuhn &
McPartland, 1954). The participants had to complete ten sentences starting by
“I am”.
For the analysis of the narratives of the earliest memory, issues like the age at the
earliest memory, emotions, autonomous orientation, number of others…were
considered. The self-descriptions were analyzed in terms of the form of description
(individual, public or collective) and the forms of evaluation (positive, negative or
neutral) provided.
The results of this study evidenced some cultural and gender differences in
autobiographical memory (AM) and self descriptions. These differences are
summarized in table 1:
- Cultural differences in AM:
Age of the earliest memory (earlier in the Danish and Spanish students).
Emotions (more emotions in Mexicans and Spaniards than in Danes).
- Culture by gender interactions in AM
Emotions (opposite trends in Danes and Mexicans).
Specificity (different trends in Danes compared to Spaniards and
Mexicans)..
- Gender differences in AM (higher in women)
Autonomous orientation.
Prior recollections..
- Cultural differences in self-descriptions: more positive in Mexicans, more
negative in Spaniards and more neutral evaluation in Danes..
Table 1. Results from de la Mata et al., 2008.
In this context, there is a lack of studies analyzing the role of educational
background in autobiographical memory. This analysis is pertinent and especially
necessary for different reasons. On the one hand, we consider that the central role of
narratives in autobiographical memory makes necessary to analyze this role. Formal
education and literacy are associated to the development of narrative forms
differentiated form those associated to oral discourses (i.e. primary vs. secondary
orality) In this sense, for example, the findings from cross-cultural research in
psychology, as well as data form psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics or educational
psychology have evidenced the capital influence of formal education in the acquisition
of cognitive and narrative skills and the transformations in discourse in relation to
socio-educational experience. On the other hand, some authors have stated the existence
of a relationship between educational background and the development of socio-cultural
orientations to the self enhancing autonomy (Kagitçibasi, 1996; 2005; Keller, 2007;
Keller et al., 2004).
A study about the relationship between formal schooling and autobiographical memory.
We have conducted a study about the relationship between autobiographical
memory and formal schooling. The participants of the study were adults from two
generations (30-35 and 50-55 years old) and from three different educational levels:
literate (learning to read and write), basic (equivalent to primary education) and
university students. They were asked to narrate orally their earliest memory, as well as
another important memories from each of three periods in their life (childhood, youth
and adulthood). For this study, we have nalyzed the narratives of the earliest memory,
only. As the explanatory variable we have only considered educational background.
Differences between generations were not considered.
The aims of the study are the following:
1) To analyse the relationship between schooling experience and earliest
autobiographical memories and self-narratives in Mexican people.
2) To analyse some narrative aspects (i.e. the use of action & mental verbs and
metacognitive evaluations) of the earliest memories.
3) To analyse gender differences in autobiographical memories and selfnarratives.
Method
Participants. 60 adults (30-55 years old) coming from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas,
(Mexico).
- Gender: 30 males and 30 females.
- Schooling experience:
- 20 (literacy level). Learning to read and write.
- 20 (basic level). Equivalent to primary education.
20 (university level)
Procedure. Oral interviews about their earliest memory were conducted. The
participants were also asked to remember another three memories from different periods
of their lives. For this study, only the earliest memory was analysed.
The interviews were transcribed literally and analysed with a category system
that considered the following aspects:
AM
Self
• Age at the earliest memory (months)
• Autonomous orientation
• Memory content:
- individual
• Other-self ratio
- social
• Self description
• Memory specificity:
- specific
- general
• Emotional content
Table 2. Category system employed for the first analysis (Adapted from Wang,
2001, 2004).
An additional narrative analysis was applied. This analysis was based on Smorti
2….). For this analysis, the transcriptions were divided into sentence units. Each unit
was coded into one of the following categories
Narrative analysis
•
•
•
Action verb units
Mental verb units:
- Cognitive
- Intentional
- Emotional
Metacognitive units
Table 3. Category system for the narrative analysis (adapted from Smorti, 2004).
Results
In this section, we present a summary of the main findings of our study.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Chi square tests were applied. The explanatory
variable was educational level. Outcome (response) variables were the categories of
AM, self and narrative units. We present the main differences observed. Statistical data
are omitted
- Differences in three categories of AM between schooling levels were observed
(age at the earliest memory, memory content and memory specificity. Only one
category showed no significant differences: emotionality of the memories. In these
categories, university participants’ memories were earlier, more personal/individual
and more specific than the other participants’ memories.
- Gender differences in autonomous and social self-orientation were also observed.
Men showed a higher index of autonomy and women a higher level of social
orientation in their memories.
- Differences in self-description related to schooling level and gender were found.
University participants (men and women) showed a higher index of agentivity than
the other participants; men showed more agentive self descriptions in their personal
narratives.
Narrative analyses
- Differences in the use of mental states (both cognitive and emotional) verbs and
metacognitive units between schooling levels. Participants with higher levels of
schooling used more mental verbs and metacognitive expressions in their earliest
memories.
- Differences in the proportion of units referred to the self between schooling levels:
participants with higher levels of schooling used more sentences referred to the self.
- Gender differences in the proportion of units referred to the self: higher in men
than in women.
Discussion and preliminary conclusions
- Differences between schooling levels were similar to cultural differences
associated to independent vs. interdependent self-construal (Leitchman, Wang &
Pillemer, 2003;; Wang, 2001, 2004; Nelson & Fivush, 2004; Keller, 2007; de la
Mata et al., 2008
- Narrative analysis showed evidence of the relationship between schooling
experience and the reference to mental states in autobiographical narratives
- In general, these results point to the need to deepen the analysis of the relationship
between formal schooling, AM and self construal. As we have said before, more
detailed analyses of the ways by which school practices influence autobiographical
memory and self are needed.
- Finally, we mist recognize some limitations in our study due to sample size (data
assessment and analysis not completed yet). Analyses of larger samples may serve
to test these preliminary results.
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First author’s affiliation and address:
Manuel de la Mata Benítez
mluis@us.es
Universidad de Sevilla
C/ S. Fernando, 4
C.P. 41004-Sevilla
Spain.