The Effect of Immigration on the Contents and Organization of Autobiographical Memory: A Transition-Theory Perspective

• Published in: Journal of applied research in memory and cognition Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 135 - 142
• Main Authors: Shi, Liangzi, Brown, Norman R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washigton Elsevier Science 01.06.2016; Elsevier Inc; Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
• Subjects: Autobiographical Memory; Female; Human; Immigration; Life Changes; Male; Transition theory; Immigration; Transition theory; Autobiographical memory
• ISSN: 2211-3681; 2211-369X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.03.002

This study examined how immigration affects the organization and contents of autobiographical memory. The 40 middle-aged individuals who participated in this study were at least in their 30s when relocating from China to Canada. The participants retrieved personal memories in response to neutral cue words, thought aloud as they dated the retrieved memories, assessed the phenomenal properties of retrieved memories, and finally rated the transitional impacts of their relocation to Canada. We observed a robust Living-through-Immigration effect (i.e. frequent reference to relocation in event dating) and a large Immigration Bump. We also confirmed that relocation to Canada was perceived to be a major life transition. Regardless of when they occurred, the recalled events received roughly same mid-scale ratings on importance, self-relevance, distinctiveness and emotional intensity. The findings support the transition-theory prediction that important personal transitions should affect autobiographical memory in much the same way that important collective transitions do. General Audience Summary When asked to recall a specific event related to the word "tree", what would a 50-year-old Chinese immigrant report? For most Chinese people of that age, the first memory that comes to mind is probably the tree-climbing experience from his/her childhood. However, for a person who moved from China to Canada and whose life has been completely changed since then, it is fairly common to report a maple-tree story that occurred in his/her first year in Canada. In this study, we demonstrate that immigration is an important transition in the Chinese immigrants' lives, and that it plays an important role in the memory for one's own past. On one hand, the immigrants tend to recall an event from the time of immigration, and on the other hand, they tend to refer to the time of immigration when estimating the date for the reported events.