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‘I remember therefore I am, and I am therefore I remember’: Exploring the contributions of episodic and semantic self‐knowledge to strength of identity
Author(s) -
Haslam Catherine,
Jetten Jolanda,
Haslam S. Alexander,
Pugliese Cara,
Tonks James
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1348/000712610x508091
Subject(s) - psychology , autobiographical memory , identity (music) , mediation , semantic memory , episodic memory , personal identity , recall , self concept , social psychology , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , cognition , physics , neuroscience , political science , acoustics , law
The present research explores the relationship between the two components of autobiographical memory – episodic and semantic self‐knowledge – and identity strength in older adults living in the community and residential care. Participants ( N = 32) completed the autobiographical memory interview and measures of personal identity strength and multiple group memberships. Contrary to previous research, autobiographical memory for all time periods (childhood, early adulthood, and recent life) in the semantic domain was associated with greater strength in personal identity. Further, we obtained support for the hypothesis that the relationship between episodic self‐knowledge and identity strength would be mediated by knowledge of personal semantic facts. However, there was also support for a reverse mediation model indicating that a strong sense of identity is associated with semantic self‐knowledge and through this may enhance self‐relevant recollection. The discussion elaborates on these findings and we propose a self‐knowledge and identity model (SKIM) whereby semantic self‐knowledge mediates a bidirectional relationship between episodic self‐knowledge and identity.