Living in history: The effects of war, terrorism, and natural disaster on the organization of autobiographical memory

Brown, Norman; Lee, Peter J.; Krslak, Mirna; Conrad, Frederick G.; Hansen, Tia G. B.; Havelka, J

doi:10.1037/e527352012-062

Cited by 47 publications

(108 citation statements)

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“…As such, a life transition can be operationalized as an event that produces high degrees of material and psychological change (Svob, Brown, Reddon, Uzer, & Lee, 2014). In particular, Brown and colleagues have examined the impact of public, historical events on autobiographical memory and have observed a Living-in-History (LiH) effect (Brown et al, 2009). That is, personal events were dated frequently with respect to public historical events in populations that had undergone sudden, unexpected, dramatic, and prolonged disruptions to the fabric of their daily lives (e.g., Bosnians who lived through the Siege of Sarajevo; residents of Ismit, Turkey, who survived a catastrophic earthquake in 1991).…”

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One theory of memory, transition theory (Brown, Hansen, Lee, Vanderveen, & Conrad, 2012;Brown & Lee, 2010;Brown et al, 2009;Brown, Schweickart, & Svob, 2016;Nourkova & Brown, 2014;Zebian & Brown, 2014), has investigated the impact of historical events on memory. According to transition theory, memory is organized by events that signal or cause marked changes in the ordinary circumstances of daily life; such events are called transitions.…”

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

et al. 2016

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Intergenerational transmission of memory is a process by which biographical knowledge contributes to the construction of collective memory (representation of a shared past). We investigated the intergenerational transmission of war-related memories and social-distance attitudes in second-generation post-war Croatians. We compared 2 groups of young adults from (1) Eastern Croatia (extensively affected by the war) and (2) Western Croatia (affected relatively less by the war). Participants were asked to (a) recall the 10 most important events that occurred in one of their parents' lives, (b) estimate the calendar years of each, and (c) provide scale ratings on them. Additionally, (d) all participants completed a modified Bogardus Social Distance scale, as well as an (e) War Events Checklist for their parents' lives. There were several findings. First, approximately two-thirds of Eastern Croatians and one-half of Western Croatians reported warrelated events from their parents' lives. Second, war-related memories impacted the second-generation's identity to a greater extent than did non-war-related memories; this effect was significantly greater in Eastern Croatians than in Western Croatians. Third, war-related events displayed markedly different mnemonic characteristics than non-war-related events. Fourth, the temporal distribution of events surrounding the war produced an upheaval bump, suggesting major transitions (e.g., war) contribute to the way collective memory is formed. And, finally, outright social ostracism and aggression toward out-groups were rarely expressed, independent of region. Nonetheless, social-distance scores were notably higher in Eastern Croatia than in Western Croatia.

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Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

et al. 2016

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“…A definitive version was subsequently published in Memory, 24, 482-495. DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2015 5 called the Living-in-History effect (Brown et al, 2009). Just like personal transitions, collective transitions are thought to have a graded impact on the organization of autobiographical memory.…”

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People are expected to date the majority of their memories in relation to these landmark events. Besides personal transitions, occasionally major life-changing public events like the beginning or ending of a war, can act as transitions that spawn new lifetime periods (Brown & Lee, 2010;Brown et al, 2009). These collective transitions mark the beginning of Historically Defined Autobiographical Periods.…”

Section: Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Living in history and living by the cultural life script: How older Germans date their autobiographical memories

Bohn

Habermas

2015

Memory

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This study examines predictions from two theories on the organization of autobiographical memory: Cultural Life Script Theory which conceptualizes the organization of autobiographical memory by cultural schemata, and Transition Theory which proposes that people organize their memories in relation to personal events that changed the fabric of their daily lives, or in relation to negative collective public transitions, called the Living-in-History effect. Predictions from both theories were tested in 48 old Germans from Berlin and Northern Germany. We tested whether the Living-in-History effect exists for both negative (WW II) and positive (Fall of Berlin Wall) collectively experienced events, and whether cultural life script events serve as a prominent strategy to date personal memories. Results showed a powerful, long-lasting Living-in History effect for the negative, but not the positive event. Berlin participants dated 26% of their memories in relation to WW II. Supporting cultural life script theory, life script events were frequently used to date personal memories. This provides evidence that people use a combination of culturally transmitted knowledge and knowledge based on personal experience to navigate through their autobiographical memories, and that experiencing war has a lasting impact on the organization of autobiographical memories across the life span.

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“…There is currently a new trend examining how public events from the past and their associated emotions can affect current memories (e.g. Berntsen and Thomsen, 2007;Bohn and Berntsen, 2007;Brown et al, 2009;Hirst et al, 2009; see also Hirst and Fineberg, this issue). There is also a growing interest in cognitive psychology to integrate constructs from social psychology.…”

Section: An Interdisciplinary Outlook On Belgian Collective Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The interplay between collective memory and the erosion of nation states – the paradigmatic case of Belgium: Introduction to the special issue

et al. 2011

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The main goal of the special issue on 'the interplay between collective memory and the erosion of nation states: The paradigmatic case of Belgium' is to examine the erosion of the Belgian State as an exemplary illustration of the way memories of past events can influence current attitudes, emotions, representations and behaviours. We believe that the recent political crisis in Belgium, with no government for more than one year after the 2010 general elections, could be partly illuminated by the diverging and sometimes contradictory memories each linguistic group (Dutch-vs. French-speakers) in Belgium holds about the past. These issues will be examined through different disciplines from the social sciences and humanities: social psychology, history, psychoanalysis, political sciences, and literature. KeywordsBelgium, collective memory, collective emotions Memory Studies 5(1)Throughout the world, we are currently confronted with the erosion of nation states as independentist or separatist movements question the consensus on national identities. Many explanations for these changes can be put forward. One such explanation may stem from diverging collective memories. Collective memories may play a crucial role in these conflicts as they serve to justify conflicting parties' motives and aspirations. By defining what the nation was, it also projects an image of what it should be (Hilton and Liu, 2008). Thus, political conflicts surrounding the integrity of nation states systematically involve conflict of memories (e.g. Licata et al., 2007;Rosoux, 2004). As we will see below, these conflicts most often include the ignorance -or the rejection -of the other group's memory. Beyond its scientific interest, understanding these conflicts of memories is practical as well: such an understanding may lead to a better understanding of the processes and factors that impede or facilitate the outburst of violence as a result of these mnemonic conflicts. Belgium: Some history and background knowledgeA fruitful strategy for addressing the complex relations between collective memory and political conflicts surrounding the viability of modern nation states involves considering these relations in a specific national context. In this respect, Belgium is a particularly relevant country for examining this question. Independent since 1830 (see Hirst and Fineberg, this issue, for a more extensive historical overview), Belgium is a relatively small (approximately the size of Massachusetts), but densely populated, western European country composed of two main linguistic groups, the French and the Dutch speakers, plus a small German-speaking population. The definition of Belgium as a nation, and identification with this nation, have fuelled debates and conflicts between the two main linguistic groups for decades. The erosion of Belgium's nation state is therefore a long process. From being a purely centralized state at its start in 1830 and until 1970, Belgium became a federal state through a series of steps in which the cultural/lingui...

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Living in history: The effects of war, terrorism, and natural disaster on the organization of autobiographical memory

Cited by 47 publications

References 0 publications

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

Living in history and living by the cultural life script: How older Germans date their autobiographical memories

The interplay between collective memory and the erosion of nation states – the paradigmatic case of Belgium: Introduction to the special issue

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