INTRODUCTION
In recent years, personal reminiscence increasingly has been viewed as a cultural practice that channels emotional development and the development of a sense of self (Fivush, Brotman, Buckner, & Goodman, 2000; Miller, 1994; Snow, 1990). Studies of children's reminiscences have identified robust differences in how boys and girls are taught to elaborate emotional events, differences that have been found to be incorporated in their own emotion talk in middle and late childhood. To date, however, most gendered reminiscence research has focused on emotional reminiscence without explicitly linking such reminiscence to self-definition. This trend is understandable in studies of children, for whom a concept of self is only beginning to emerge, but connections between gendered reminiscence and self-definition have also been neglected in studies of late adolescents, for whom a concept of self is much more developed. This study was designed to examine whether gendered findings with regard to emotional reminiscence that have been obtamed in studies of children extend to the self-defining memories of late adolescents. This study may be the most explicit inquiry to date as to whether gendered reminiscence practices are integral to self-definition in late adolescence.
Gendered Reminiscence Practices in Childhood
The most robust gender differences in children's emotional expression have been found in the context of narratives about past experiences that involve negative emotions (Fivush et al., 2000). Mothers have been found to discuss happy experiences equally with pre-school-aged daughters and sons, but experiences of sadness are more often discussed with daughters than with sons (Fivush, 1989, 1991; Fivush et al., 2000; Kuebli & Fivush, 1992). When talking about frightening events, girls use more emotion words than boys do (Fivush et al., 2000), and boys are more likely than girls to deny ever having been scared (Hudson, Gebelt, & Haviland, 1992). By middle childhood, girls, compared to boys, report having felt sad more often and in more social contexts (Buckner & Fivush, 1998; Stapley & Haviland, 1989). Boys, more so than girls, expect negative consequences for expressing sadness (Fuchs & Thelen, 1988).
Girls' greater sensitivity to their own feelings of fear and sadness also extends to the feelings of others. Preschool girls, more so than boys, have been found to display empathy for others' feelings (Eisenberg, Miller, Shell, McNalley, & Shea, 1991; Zahn-Waxler, Cole, & Barrett, 1991) and to engage in nurturant interactions (Leaper, 1991). In reminiscences about memorable events, 4-9-year-old girls, more so than boys, emphasized communal themes and referenced family members (Ely, Melzi, Hadge, & McCabe, 1998).
The robustness of such findings led Fivush et al. (2000) to conclude that gendered reminiscence practices extend to self-definition; that is, girls, more so than boys, may come to view experiences of fear and sadness as a more integral part of themselves and their relations with others. The possibility that gendered reminiscence practices can channel a child's sense of self has been pursued in necessarily indirect ways because a concept of "self" requires a cognitive sophistication that does not emerge until late childhood or adolescence (Damon & Hart, 1988). By mid- to late adolescence, however, the question, "Tell me a memory that is self-defining, that helps you to understand who you are as a person," becomes meaningful.
Gender and Self-Defining Memories in Adolescence
Although the period from adolescence to early adulthood has long been characterized as the era in which identity becomes a primary concern (Erikson, 1963), the role of personal reminiscence in this process has only recently been emphasized. Building on the work of Erikson, McAdams (1985) characterized identity as becoming a primary concern when adolescents begin to notice incongruities between themselves in the present and past and to imagine different possibilities for the future. Efforts to unify the past, present, and anticipated future presumably underlie the process by which adolescents ponder their life experience and select particular events as especially meaningful for understanding who they are and could be.
Because of the theoretical linkage between identity and reminiscence in adolescence, researchers who study adolescents' memory narratives tend to examine themes of identity achievement and intimacy rather than vulnerability (e.g., McAdams, Hoffman, Mansfield, & Day, 1996; McLean & Thorne, 2001; Orlofsky & Frank, 1986). This trend may reflect theoretical assumptions that learning to manage vulnerability is a childhood task and that adolescents move on to tackle the more age-relevant tasks of identity and intimacy (Erikson, 1963). Although feelings of fear and sadness, and vulnerability more generally, do not occupy a central spot in theories of adolescent development, events that threaten one's basic sense of safety tend to be highly memorable for both children and adolescents (Pillemer, 1998). Pre-school-aged children, for example, have been found to produce longer narratives to probes about car wrecks and hospitals than to probes about pets and vacations (Ely et al., 1998). In a college student study that us ed a variety of word prompts, Robinson (1976) found that physically traumatic events such as accidents and injuries were most frequently recalled, followed by romantic episodes.
For more log onto:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_2002_May/ai_94407538
College Leader is able to provide articles like these free of charge through the generous support of people like you. To help us train those working in college ministry click here.
