Explicit and Implicit Forms of Autobiographical Eleventh (11th) International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Imperial College London, London UK 2nd – 5th August 2016 Explicit and Implicit Forms of Autobiographical Memory: Identity Implications Theofilos Gkinopoulos, Anna Madoglou, Panagiotis Xanthopoulos

Overview The present study examines personal, family and social autobiographical events that people would like to remember and forget as social representations of the past. Analysis is based on participants’ open ended questions about events they want to remember/forget in relation to themselves, their family and their social environment. Results are discussed under the light of social representations approaches and identify organizational principles of participants’ autobiographical past.

Theoretical Background Memory: complex process that integrates remembrances and forgettings (Halbwachs, 1950). Autobiographical memory: set of past events that defined the individual (Auriat, 1996; Piolino et al., 2000). Personal, family and social autobiographical memories (Madoglou, 2010) Autobiographical memory is constructed through social interactions and memories of others. => Social memory (Halbwachs, 1925, 1950). Social memories = Network of social representations of the past transmitted through communication (Haas & Jodelet, 2000; Deschamps et al., 2002; Viaud, 2003) and delineated by one’s generation (Mannheim, 1990; Olick, 1999).

Theoretical Background Memory – Social Representations: Their connection Social representations: stock of values, beliefs, ideas and practices that are shared among members of social groups. They turn an event that has ceased to exist to an event of virtual existance (Viaud, 2003). Anchoring/Objectification as two main processes (Moscovici, 1961). Social representations depend on memory, as they are made up on the basis of previous knowledge (Rouquette,1977). Social representations filter information and knowledge that is committed to memory, whereas memory influences the content of social representations themselves.

Hypotheses Explicit autobiographical memory (remembering) contents contain events enhancing the individual identity, while contents of implicit autobiographical memory (forgetting) comprise identity threatening events (Candau, 1998; Haas & Jodelet, 1999). Differences between the content of oblivion (forgetting-implicit memory) with personal and family oblivion consisting of traumatic but not degrading or humiliating events (oblivion-medicine) and social oblivion composed by humiliating, traumatic, ‘forbidden’ events, which stigmatize and blot individual identities (oblivion-poison) (Haas, 2000). The content of explicit and implicit autobiographical memory will depend on the age group that participants belong to (Conway, 1997; Olick, 1999).

Method Participants: 1210 male (N=575) and female (N=635) aged 12-60+ participated in this study. The sample was drawn from elementary school pupils, university students (random samples) and the general population (using here a snowball technique). Measures: 1/3 of Ps were asked to write down three events concerning their personal life that they would want to remember (explicit memory) and three that they want to forget (implicit memory). 1/3 of Ps were asked accordingly to write down three events concerning their family and the rest of the Ps were asked to write down three events that another person (‘one’) would want to remember or forget (social explicit and implicit memory).

Results Common thematic categories with different content or emotional connotation: family context, friends, sexual relationships, studies and leisure times, first time of doing or experiencing something…etc. Thematic categories such as death, public (political events), disasters and humiliating experiences are found in implicit (oblivion) memory.

Results: Memory contents in relation to gender, age-group, memory type and event type

Results ‘Good memory’ and ‘Bad oblivion’: intense, emotional experiences, first time, milestone events in individuals’ lives The content of explicit and implicit autobiographical memory is objectified in events related to family, school, student years, friendship, professional life etc. ‘answers of ‘nothing’ or ‘no answer’ => oblivion events ‘oblivion-medicine’ and ‘oblivion-poison’: unpleasant events that can be discussed vs traumatic, degrading experiences that refer to a socially ‘forbidden’ truth. No differences between males and females Differences between age-groups

Results: Memory contents differentiating gender, age-groups, memory types and event types Categories Memory contents   Social voluntary memories of 30-45, 46-60 and 60+ year olds (20,33%) Wedding, degree, job (success), birth (child), job (established), happy (circumstances), love affair, happy (moments), marital life, first love- affair Family voluntary memories of female, 19-24 years olds (14,37%) Birth (relative), trip, holidays christening, studies(relative), cure, house purchase, moving house, university, everything Personal voluntary memories of male 12, 15 and 17 year olds (11,56%) Rare experience, first day at school, school years, first time (positive), birthday , high grades at school, leisure time, football, pet, medal Social involuntary memories of 19-24 and 30-45 year olds (20,59%) Death (loved one), job (problems), adverse circumstances, traumatic experiences, divorce (separation), unhappy events, degrading experience, friendship dissolution, separation, illness Family and personal involuntary memories of 12 and 15 year olds (33,15%) No answer, fight (row), accident, death (relative), hospital, house, family (problems), earthquake, illness (relative), nothing

Results The content of explicit and implicit autobiographical memory passes through the individuals’ age filter. Anchoring of memory events – Group affiliations Aims, interests, activities, social relationships, benchmarks, the social context, obligations and needs, employment issues => common in the same age group/different between age groups. Selection of events on the basis of their Significance for individuals’ identity.

Conclusion and Implications Selection of past events => Use in the present => identity construction and maintenance across ages Content of autobiographical memory: Three (3) ‘organizational principles’ (Doise, 1989, 1992): a dominant memory, an ‘oblivion-medicine’ and an ‘oblivion-poison’. Distinguish between personal, family and social contents of autobiographical memory vs the current emphasis on its individual content. Interpretation of memory processes under the light of social representation theory linking the anchoring and objectification processes with the content of autobiographical memories as social representations of the past shared by people of the same age group.