Reminiscence Bump - Reminiscence Bump Theories

Reminiscence Bump Theories

Adolescence and early adulthood have been described as special times in memory encoding because individuals typically recall a disproportionate number of autobiographical memories from those periods. The reminiscence bump accounts for this disproportionate number of memories. The reminiscence bump typically occurs between 10 years of age and 30 years of age and is the period that individuals produce the most memories during free recall tasks. Research suggests that memories are easily accessible from the reminiscence bump because they are linked to self-identity. The memories found within the reminiscence bump significantly contribute to an individual’s life goals, self-theories, attitudes, and beliefs. Additionally, life events that occur during the period of the reminiscence bump, such as graduation, marriage, or the birth of a child, are often very novel, thus, making them more memorable.

There are three possible explanations of the reminiscence bump: a cognitive account, a narrative/identity account, and a biological/maturational account.

The cognitive account suggests that memories are remembered best because they occur during a period of rapid change followed by a period of relative stability. There is an assumed memory advantage for the novel and distinct events that is followed by a period of stability. The novel events are subject to greater elaborative cognitive processing leading to better encoding of these memories. Moreover, the period of stability that follows increases the stability of the cues for these memories and increases the chances of recall.

The narrative/identity account suggests that the reminiscence bump occurs because a sense of identity develops during adolescence and early adulthood. Identity formation provides added motivation for using cognitive processes to ensure recall of these memories. The events from this period are more likely to be organized into a story or view of oneself, and benefits from the advantage of schematic organization in memory.

The biological/ maturational account suggests that genetic fitness is improved by having many memories that fall within the reminiscence bump. Researchers have suggested that the increase in memory during the bump could help cognitive functions required for selecting the best mate. Also, cognitive capacities are at their optimum from the ages of 10 to 30 and the bump may reflect a peak in cognitive performance

There is one additional theory that explains the occurrence of the reminiscence bump: the life script account. A life script refers to the series of culturally important transitional events that are expected to occur in a certain order at various points during the life span. A life script typically includes positive experiences such as marriage, the birth of a baby, or buying a house. Events that deviate from the life script are typically sad and traumatic. These events, such as the death of a child, are not culturally expected and often do not show a peak of recall at any specific point during the life span. Life scripts act as a way to structure memory and lead to the expectation that the happiest and the most important life events form the reminiscence bump. Contrary to the recall of happy events, the recall of sad events remains stable across the life span and does exhibit a bump in recall.