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De la Mata Benítez, Manuel L. 1 Hansen, Tia G. B. 2 Santamaría Santigosa, Andrés 2

IV Nordic ISCAR. Oslo, June 15th-17h 2007. Cultural and gender differences in autobiographical memories and self-descriptions: A narrative analysis. De la Mata Benítez, Manuel L. 1 Hansen, Tia G. B. 2 Santamaría Santigosa, Andrés 2 Ruiz Ramos , Lucía 3 ,

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De la Mata Benítez, Manuel L. 1 Hansen, Tia G. B. 2 Santamaría Santigosa, Andrés 2

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  1. IV Nordic ISCAR. Oslo, June 15th-17h 2007 Cultural and gender differences in autobiographical memories and self-descriptions: A narrative analysis De la Mata Benítez, Manuel L.1 Hansen, Tia G. B.2 Santamaría Santigosa, Andrés2 Ruiz Ramos , Lucía3, 1. Department of Experimental Psychology. University of Seville (Spain) 2. Department of Communication. Aalborg University (Denmark) 3. Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (Mexico) IV Nordic ISCAR

  2. Autobiographical Memory: A Socio-Cultural Developmental View (Nelson & Fivush, 2004) • Autobiographical memory (AM) emerges across the preschool years and contributes to the emergence of a new concept of self. It is related to changes that occur in different spheres of social, personality and cognitive development. • The emergence and development of this form of memory is related, according to Nelson, with the development of language, a cultural tool that plays a fundamental role in this development • Individual AM is shaped by social experiences and cultural values • There are cultural, gender and individual differences in AM and its development. • Narratives and memories of personal experiences emerge from social interactions. IV Nordic ISCAR

  3. Culture and AMMechanisms of Cultural Influence (Leitchman, Wang & Pillemer, 2003) - Narrative environment - Self-construal - Emotion situation knowledge - Beliefs about personal past IV Nordic ISCAR

  4. AM & Self-Construal Differences between Americans and Chinese college students in their earliest memories (Wang, 2001): • American students • Earlier (6 months). • Lengthy • Specific • Self-focused • Emotionally elaborate • Chinese students • Later (6 months). • Shorter • General • Others-focused • Emotionally less elaborate IV Nordic ISCAR

  5. Culture & AM. Self-construal Differences in Self-orientation between American and Chinese college students(Wang, 2001). Characteristics of Self-descriptions Americans Chinese • Self-focused - Group oriented - Asertive- Modest Self oriented towards independence Self oriented towards interdependence IV Nordic ISCAR

  6. Self-construalDenmark, Spain & Mexico Studies about self-construal in Denmark, Spain and Mexico show some differences between these countries in terms of individualism vs. collectivism: (Hofstede, 1984, 2001, 2003; Oyserman, Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2002) DenmarkSpain Mexico Individualism Collectivismism Independent self Interdependent self IV Nordic ISCAR

  7. AM & Narrative • Narratives are acquired in discursive practices about past experiences. • Narrative as a discourse genre and as way of organizing experience (thinking). • The narrative form incorporates the structure of events and perspectives, goals, temporal context, causal structure (landscape of action, Bruner, 1986) and motivations, mental states, etc. (landscape of consciousness). IV Nordic ISCAR

  8. The study: Aims 1) To analyse the relationship between AM and self-descriptions in college students. 2) To compare Danish, Spanish and Mexican students in the characteristics of their earliest memory and self-descriptions. 3) To analyse gender differences (and culture x gender interactions) in AM and self-descriptions. 4) To analyse some narrative aspects (i.e. the use of action & mental verbs and metacognitive evaluations ) of the earliest memory. IV Nordic ISCAR

  9. Participants • College students from three different universities in three countries: • Aalborg Universitet (Denmark). • Universidad de Sevilla (Spain). • Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (Mexico. • Half females and half males • Similar socio-economic background. IV Nordic ISCAR

  10. Instrument Wang (2001, 2004). Written questionnaires: Narrative of the earliest memory Autobiographical memory Questions about accesibiliy and emotions Self Construal Twenty Statements Test (TST) IV Nordic ISCAR

  11. Categories of analysis(Wang, 2001, 2004) Self-Descriptions • Organization • Evaluation • Abstraction • Content AM • Memory volume • Age at earliest memory • Memory content • Memory specificity • Memory emotionality • Autonomous orientation • Number of others • Interaction scenario • Other-self ratio • Prior recollection IV Nordic ISCAR

  12. Narrative Analysis (Units) Action Verbs units Mental verbs units: Cognitive Intentional Emotional Kappa = .933 (sentences) Kappa = .873 (Self/others) Metacognitive units Smorti, A. (2004). Narrative strategies among early adoslescents involved in bully-victim relationships. Journal of School Violence, 4(1), 5-27 IV Nordic ISCAR

  13. Results. AMCulture Culture: F = 12.89; df= 2; p < .001 ** Culture: F = 12.89; df = 2; p > .001 ** * p < .05 ** P < .01 IV Nordic ISCAR

  14. Results. AMGender Gender: F = 5.38; df = 1; p = .021 * Gender: F = 11.08; df = 1; p = .001 ** * p < .05 ** P < .01 IV Nordic ISCAR

  15. Results. AMCulture x Gender Culture x Gender: F = 4.34; df = 2; p = .014 * * p < .05 ** P < .01 IV Nordic ISCAR

  16. Results. AMCulture x Gender Culture x Gender: χ2= 8.85; df = 2; p = .012 * * p < .05 ** P < .01 IV Nordic ISCAR

  17. Results. Self-DescriptionsCulture: Evaluations Culture: F = 36.65; df= 2; p < .001 ** Culture: F = 3.61; df= 2; p =.028 * Culture: F = 34.96; df= 2; p < .001 ** * p < .05 ** P < .01 IV Nordic ISCAR

  18. Narrative analysis Culture Culture: F = 11.15; df= 2; p > .001 ** IV Nordic ISCAR

  19. Narrative analysis Culture Culture: F = 5.31; df= 2; p = .034 * IV Nordic ISCAR

  20. Narrative analysis Gender Culture: F = 5.46; df= 2; p = .001 ** IV Nordic ISCAR

  21. Narrative analysis Culture x Gender Culture x Gender: F = 3.11; df = 2; p = .045 * * p < .05 ** P < .01 IV Nordic ISCAR

  22. Summary. Cultural & Gender differences • Differences in AM between Danish, Spanish and Mexican college students in the age of the earliest memory (earlier in the Danish and Spanish students) and in emotions (more emotions in Mexicans and Spaniards than in Danes). • Culture and gender interaction in emotions (opposite trends in Danes and Mexicans) and specificity of the earliest memory (different trends in Danes compared to Spaniards and Mexicans). • Gender differences in autonomous orientation and prior recollections (both higher in women) • Differences between cultures in self-descriptions: more positive in Mexicans, more negative in Spaniards and more neutral evaluation in Danes. IV Nordic ISCAR

  23. Summary: narrative analysis • Danish and Spanish students used more metacognitive units than Mexicans. • Spanish and Mexican students used more units referred to the self than Danes. • There was a gender difference in the use of emotional verbs (women used more). This trend vary across cultures, with opposite trends in Danes and Mexicans. There was a very small gender difference in the Spanish students. IV Nordic ISCAR

  24. Conclusions • Our data offered some evidence that is consistent with the idea that Danish culture is more individualistic, and Mexican culture more collectivistic, with the Spanish culture in an intermediate level. (except in the number of units referred to the self in the Danish students) • However, differences were not very big. This may be due to: • No large differences between these cultures in terms of individualism-collectivism (Hofstede, 2001, 2003). • The three groups were formed by college students: similarities in the socio-cultural activities they participate in. IV Nordic ISCAR

  25. Conclusions (2). Future research • Need to analyze within-group differences and identify patterns of relation between AM and self-description variables. • Need to deepen the analysis of individualism and collectivism as cultural dimensions and their relation to independent vs. interdependent self-construals. • Need to study the relationship between socio-cultural context (activity settings), AM and self-construal. IV Nordic ISCAR

  26. Tusen takk!Thank you for your attention! Aja GreveSusanne HolmLone Lee JørgensenLene Hundal MikkelsenBirgitte Bergholt GrymerCecilie StjernholmMalene Overgaard Thimm JensenKamille Marie Pöckel Contact: mluis@us.es tia@hum.aau.dk And thanks to: For their great help in collecting and coding the data

  27. IV Nordic ISCAR. Oslo, June 15th-17h 2007 Cultural and gender differences in autobiographical memories and self-descriptions: A narrative analysis De la Mata Benítez, Manuel L.1 Hansen, Tia G. B.2 Santamaría Santigosa, Andrés2 Ruiz Ramos , Lucía3, 1. Department of Experimental Psychology. University of Seville (Spain) 2. Department of Communication. Aalborg University (Denmark) 3. Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (Mexico) IV Nordic ISCAR

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