II ISCAR Congress. San Diego1 Culture, autobiographical memory and self. Formal schooling as a sociocultural activity 1 De la Mata, Manuel L. 1 Santamaría, Andrés 1 Tia G.B. Hansen 2 Lucía Ruíz 3 Ruiz, Marcia 3 1. Universidad de Sevilla (Spain). 2. Aalborg Universitet (Denmark) 3. Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (Mexico)

2 Formal education is a fundamental setting for socialization, transmission and recreation of social values. This social practice is related to the development of a notion of individual and selfhood that is characteristic of modern societies. This notion includes: - The acquisition and use of “rational” or “formal” ways of thinking and remembering. - The development of a set of values as autonomy and self-reflection (characteristic of the modern citizen). Recent data from cross-cultural psychology have shown 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, thoughts and feelings. Asian cultures, in contrast, tend to emphasize a collective or interdependent self, experienced as a part of a social web. These differences in the emphasis on independence vs. interdependence are evidenced in diverse aspect of the self (emotions, cognitive processes, attributions and moral reasoning and achievement motivation, among others) (Markus & Kitayama). It is generally assumed a global trend to an increasing model of autonomy (although not necessarily associated to separatedness, as Kağitçibaşi claims). Formal schooling seems to be an important factor that promotes the cultural model of autonomy to a great extent. Autobiographical memory is defined as memory for the facts and events of personal meaningful past. 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. Research in the last years has evidenced cultural differences in autobiographical memory. These differences are consistent with differences observed in self construal between cultures. Observed differences are concerned with aspects like the age of 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. Starting from this theoretical perspective, we analyze and discuss the data from two studies developed in our groups: - A cross-cultural study about autobiographical memory, self and culture in Denmark, Spain and Mexico. - A study about the relationship between formal schooling and autobiographical memory. The analysis of the data showed that formal schooling experience seemed to promote forms of remembering autobiographical experiences/events that are similar to those that characterise the “cultures of autonomy” (age of the earliest memory, focus on autonomy, the self as the protagonist of the memories, emotional content). These results are discussed in terms of the relationship between socio-cultural activities and autobiographical remembering and self. Abstract

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego3  Autobiographical Memory is memory for information related to self.  When the individuals tell their personal life stories, they are speaking about their selves (self-concepts, identities).  Or, conversely, when the individuals speak about their selves, they seem to refer to their life stories. AM & Self

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego4  AM as a narrative about own’s life.  Self as central protagonist and story teller (dialogical view).  As any narrative, AM is mediated by semiotic tools that the individuals appropriates along their life.  The appropriation of these tools is related to participation in different socio-cultural settings and activities (specially, schooling practices). AM & Narrative

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego5  Self-Narratives and memories of personal events emerge from social interactions.  Self-making as a narrative art (Bruner, 2003).  Narratives are rooted in implicit cultural models about what a person should be.  These models provide guidelines for the construction of self identity. AM & Narrative (II)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego6  Autobiographical memory (AM) emerges across the preschool years and contributes to the emergence of a new concept of self. It is related to changes that occur in different spheres of social, personality and cognitive development.  The emergence and development of this form of memory is related, according to Nelson, with the development of language, a cultural tool that plays a fundamental role in this development  Individual AM is shaped by social experiences and cultural values  There are cultural, gender and individual differences in AM and its development.  Narratives and memories of personal experiences emerge from social interactions. AM: A Socio-Cultural Developmental View (Nelson & Fivush, 2004)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego7 - Self-construal - Emotion situation knowledge - Beliefs about personal past - Narrative environment Mechanisms of Cultural Influence (Leitchman, Wang & Pillemer, 2003)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego8  Differences between Euro-American and East- Asian cultures in self-construal: Individualism vs. collectivism (Triandis, 1989; Hofstede, 2003). Independence vs. interdependent (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Autonomy vs. related self (Kagitçibasi, 200, 2008).  Differences in self-construal are related to differences in AM: Age at the earliest memory. Memory volume & Elaboration. Emotionality. Themes (e.g. agency vs. relation) Specificity. AM & Cultural Self-Construal

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego9 a) Few studies about self-construal and autobiographical memories in other but East Asian and Euro American cultures. Generally considered a collectivistic culture (Hofstede, 1984, 2001; Oyserman, Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2002) (more interdependent self) b) No studies about the influence of specific cultural practices on earliest personal memories and narratives (e.g. schooling practices) AM & Cultural Self-Construal (II)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego10 De la Mata et al. (2008)  Study of cultural and gender differences in AM and self-descriptions  Participants: college students from three countries: Denmark, Spain and Mexico.  Studies about self-construal in Denmark, Spain and Mexico show some differences between these countries in terms of individualism vs. collectivism : ( Hofstede, 1984, 2001, 2003; Oyserman, Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2002) Denmark Spain Mexico IndividualismCollectivism Independent self Interdependent self

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego11 De la Mata et al. (2008)  Method: Replication of Wang (2001, 2004): 1) Recall of the earliest memory. 2. Questions about accessibility and emotions. 3) Shortened version of the TST (10 sentences starting by “I am…”  Wang’s (2001, 2004) categories of analysis.

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego12 Results: Cultural & Gender differences  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 x 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..

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego13 Formal schooling, literacy and citizenship:  Acquisition and development of “rational” or formal ways of thinking (categorization, problem solving, memory…).  Notion of individual and self characteristic of citizenship and modernity.  Relationship between formal schooling and independent self-construal (Kagitçibasi, 2005, 2007). Independent self-construal, Formal schooling & Mind

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego14  Cross-cultural research comparing schooled and non-schooled people: Categorization and concept formation. Memory. Reasoning and problem-solving. Formal schooling & mental processes (I)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego15  Differences interpreted in terms of ways of thinking: Theoretical vs. empirical argumentation (Scribner). Propositional vs. narrative thinking (Bruner). Academic vs. everyday concepts (Vygosky). Formal schooling & mental processes (II)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego16 Modern concept of mind: Modern concept of mind:  Mind as an entity that contents ideas and mental states (thoughts, memories, beliefs….).  Autonomous individual, responsible of his/her mental states and actions.  Self-consciousness.  Self-consciousness emerges through autobiographical narrative, interpreted from the perspective of the narrative self (Bruner, 1990, 2002). Literacy and the development of the literate mind (I) (Olson, 1994 )

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego17 Role of literacy and literate practices in the development of the modern concept of mind: Role of literacy and literate practices in the development of the modern concept of mind:  Separation things-representations: thinking as an “autonomous” activity about the world.  Thinking as an “epistemic” activity.  Mind as an object defined by mental states. Literacy and the development of the literate mind (II) (Olson, 1994)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego18 The present study: Research questions 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 self-narratives.

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego19 Method (1). Participants  60 people coming from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, México). - Gender: 30 males and 30 females. - Schooling experience: 20 (literacy level) 20 (basic level) 20 (university level)

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego20 - Oral interviews about earliest personal memories Method (3). Instrument - Transcriptions of personal memories

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego21 Analysis: Categories AM Age at the earliest memory (months) Memory content: - individual - social Memory specificity: - specific - general Emotional content Self Autonomous orientation Other-self ratio Self description

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego22 Narrative Analysis (Units) Action Verbs units Mental verbs units: Cognitive Intentional Emotional Metacognitive units Kappa =.933 (sentences) Kappa =.873 (Self/others) Smorti, A. (2004). Narrative strategies among early adolescents involved in bully-victim relationships. Journal of School Violence, 4(1), 5-27

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego23 Metacognitive unit (initial evaluation) Passage 5 of 26Section 0, Para 42, 191 chars. 42: En realidad no sabría cuál es el más viejito. Me vienen varios y a lo mejor me confundo. No es un recuerdo que yo lo recuerde, lo ubico por unas fotografías In fact I wouldn’t know which memory is the oldest. There are some of them coming to my mind and perhaps I’m wrong. It is not something I remember. I locate it in some photos…

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego24 Metacognitive unit (final evaluation) Passage 1 of 17Section 0, Para 6, 77 chars. 6:...es un recuerdo muy agradable. No sé, me provoca una sensación de tranquilidad, de placer. 6: …it’s a very pleasant memory. I don’t know, it makes me feel calmness and pleasure.

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego25 Results: Autobiographical memory Schooling experience: F =17.68; df=2; p =.000**, η 2 =.424

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego26 Results: Autobiographical memory Schooling experience: F =3.038; df =2; p =.057, η 2 =.112

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego27 Results: Autobiographical memory Schooling experience: χ 2 =9.448; df =2; p =.009 **

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego28 Schooling experience: χ 2 =6.652; df =2; p =.036 * Results: Autobiographical memory

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego29 Results: Self Gender & Autonomy: F = 4.389; df = 1; p =.041*, η 2 =.084

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego30 Gender & Other/Self Ratio: F =6.895; df = 1; p =.012*, η 2 =.126 Results: Self

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego31 Results: Self Schooling Level & Self-Description: F =4.554; df =2; p =.015*, η 2 =.159

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego32 Results: Self Gender & Self-Description: F =16.564; df =2; p =.000**, η 2 =.257

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego33 Narrative analysis: Formal schooling Schooling Level: F = 6,184; df= 2; p =.004, η 2 =.205

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego34 Narrative analysis : Formal schooling

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego35 Narrative analysis: Formal schooling Schooling Level: F = 7,975; df= 2; p =.001, η 2 =.249

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego36 Narrative analysis: Formal schooling Schooling Level: F = 7,333; df= 2; p =.002, η 2 =.234

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego37 Narrative analysis: Formal schooling Schooling Level: F = 3,583; df= 2; p =.035, η 2 =.130

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego38 Narrative analysis: Formal schooling Schooling Level: F = 4,509; df= 2; p =.016, η 2 =.158

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego39 Narrative analysis: Formal schooling Schooling Level: F = 3,305; df= 2; p =.045, η 2 =.121

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego40 Narrative analysis: Gender Schooling Level: F = 4,486; df= 1; p =.039, η 2 =.085

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego41 Summary of results  Differences in four categories of AM between schooling levels. Only one category showed no significant differences: emotionality of the memories.  University participants memories were earlier, more personal/individual and more specific than the other participants’ memories.  Gender differences in autonomous and social self-orientation: 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: 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.

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego42 Summary of results (II)  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.

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego43 Some preliminary conclusions Differences between schooling levels are similar to cultural differences associated to independent vs. interdependent self-construal. Narrative analysis shows evidence of the relationship between schooling experience and the reference to mental states in autobiographical narratives Need to deepen into the relationship between formal schooling, AM and self construal Limitations due to sample size (data assessment and analysis not completed yet).

II ISCAR Congress. San Diego44 Thank you for your attention!! ¡Muchas gracias por su atención! Contact: