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The Psychology of Autobiographical Memory

History, Theory, Research

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Igor Sotgiu

    1. Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy

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  • Brings together current perspectives on autobiographical memory from multiple sub-disciplines
  • Details the birth and the historical development of the psychology of autobiographical memory
  • Provides a rigorous critical overview of theoretical and empirical issues in the field

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Table of contents (5 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
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  2. Introduction: An Obsession With the Past

    • Igor Sotgiu
    Pages 1-16

  3. A “Brief” History of the Psychology of Autobiographical Memory

    • Igor Sotgiu
    Pages 17-92

  4. The Content and Organisation of Autobiographical Memory

    • Igor Sotgiu
    Pages 93-125

  5. The Functions of Autobiographical Memory

    • Igor Sotgiu
    Pages 127-159

  6. Conclusions: What Is Autobiographical Memory?

    • Igor Sotgiu
    Pages 161-171

  7. Back Matter

    Pages 173-176
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Keywords

About this book

This book provides an overview of the key theoretical and empirical issues relating to autobiographical memory: the extraordinarily complex psychological activity that enables us to retrieve, relive and reappraise our pasts. The first part of the book retraces the genesis and historical development of the psychology of autobiographical memory, from the pioneering contributions of Francis Galton, Victor Henri and Sigmund Freud, to the most recent research in the fields of cognitivism, cognitive science and neuroscience. The author then moves on to two key topics in the contemporary panorama: the content and organisation of autobiographical memory (what we remember from our lives and how we link together specific segments of our personal pasts) and the functions of autobiographical memory (why we remember our pasts). This book will provide a valuable scholarly overview for cognitive psychologists and an authoritative critical introduction to the field for students and scholars fromacross psychology, philosophy, literary criticism, sociology and law.

Reviews

“Professor Sotgiu, an active autobiographical memory researcher, provides in a scholarly, clear fashion what his title implies.  As an up-to-date monograph for general readers, more specialized researchers, and upper-level students, his book has no equal.  Heated controversies are fairly presented.  A broad range of historical figures, including Bruner, Freud, Henri and Henri, Luria, and Neisser, share pages with more recent researchers to produce a unique and welcomed review.”

— David Rubin, Duke University, USA

 “This book is refreshing in contextualizing this contemporary field in its 140-year history. Readers are guided down a fascinating path to explore the intellectual evolution of humans’ obsession with their personal pasts. By presenting a comprehensive overview of both pioneering and current research, Sotgiu provides a carefully reasoned exploration of the intricacies of recalling and sharing the early, happy, meaningfuland difficult events that make up a life.”

— Susan Bluck, University of Florida, USA

 "We all have an autobiographical memory which is like a spine to our subjective life. And yet, we ignore how it develops, how it works and what it does. This book tells us what scientific research has discovered about it. Rigorous, clear and pleasant to read, the volume also offers us a model of effective communication of science." 

— Bernard Rimé, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy

    Igor Sotgiu

About the author

Igor Sotgiu is Associate Professor of General Psychology at the University of Bergamo, Italy. His research interests focus on autobiographical memory, emotion and well-being.

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