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Part I. Interdisciplinary Approach to Storytelling | 13
1.2 Individual and Collective Memory Constructions
Autobiographical memory is conceptually structured: it involves temporality
and a narrative structure that makes memories accessible and reconstructible.
The autobiographical self is the conscious, historical experience of the self
which can reconstruct events of one’s personal past and represent them in
narrative form during social interactions with friends and family members.
By evoking events, humans create a personal story about who they are, give
meaning to the events, and outline the social relations that are important to
them. The recollection and interpretation of memories may vary depending
on the situation and goals of the storyteller (Fivush, 2019). Recalling context
is a key element in the reconstruction and articulation of the life narrative.
Events are organized into thematic units based on ontological categories, and
actors, locations, time, objects, as well as actions and related thoughts are
also reflected in the narrative of memories (Kirdly, 2007). The architecture
of autobiographical reminiscence is the life-stage structure (Schacter, 1996),
the thematic framework of memory reconstruction in which the scene units
of autobiographical recall appear.
People recall a common event in different ways, each adding a different
element to their narrative which is special to them. However, memories can
also be distorted by the passage of time, elements taken from the narratives
of others, and the recollector’s prior knowledge, prejudices and emotional
state. The core story and contextual framework of traumatic events is usually
accurate, and distortions are only in the small details. Preschool-age children
have problems with recalling sources, and their storytelling can be strongly
influenced by suggestive questions. Children of this age can also confabulate
a story, and imagined events can appear in a realistic context or are confused
with real events (Schacter, 1996).
The so-called narrative turn in psychology in the 1980s brought with
it a whole new approach: the linguistic structure of narratives became the
object of study. According to the basic premise of the movement, language
is a means of forming meaning and thus of understanding the world, and
therefore the structure and language of the narrative reveal much about the
narrator's individual attitudes, emotions and identity. In the texts of narrative
- in most cases autobiographical - interviews the turns of events, the structure
of the narrative and the use of language also provide data about the narrator’s
identity constructions and status. The method of narrative content analysis
differentiates individual narratives into three categories: the canonical event,
which is a predictable, common sequence of events; the narrative perspective
(the relational architecture of the narrator and the narratives characters);
and narrative coherence (causality) (Szokolszky, 2020). In the case studies of
life narratives, common motifs and patterns can be observed between the
narratives of individuals who have experienced the same (usually traumatic)
event. Researchers group the common elements of the narratives into thematic