Just after writing my entry on Y2 and childhood memories, I picked up the latest issue of the Monitor on Psychology which is my discipline's monthly professional magazine. The issue's focus is memory flexibility and there is a piece on the culture of memory. How fitting to my entry today!
In the above linked article, a number of studies are referenced that suggest Asian/Asian Americans do not recall childhood memories as early as Whites or Maoris. The first recalled memory of adults from Asia is around 57 months, compared with 42 months (Whites) and 32 months (Maoris). A similar pattern occurs for first recalled dreams.
According to a number of cognitive and developmental psychologists, this difference is explained according to a social interaction model of development. Specifically, the cultural context of parenting may play a big role in how we construct our memories. One typology of parenting suggests there are "low-elaborative" and "high-elaborative" parents. High elaborative parents spend a lot of time talking to their children about the past and encouraging their children to give detailed accounts of their everyday lives. Low elaborative parents talk less about the past and tend to ask closed ended questions (vs. open-ended ones). It is implied that Asian cultures tend to be more low-elaborative which is consistent with a notion of a collectivistic, hierarchical cultural mileau.
Based on my very scientific N of 1 experience, I would have to agree with this assessment, though I tend to avoid such typologies. I think that many immigrants are low-elaborative in parenting style not only because of collectivism-individualism differences but also because the past is often sad, depressing, upsetting, traumatic and the present and future offer more hope to those who have escaped war, poverty, loss. I remember once asking my grandmother to describe life during the war. She first avoided the question, then smirked and commented that she didn't want to bring up bad memories when life today is good. I also think that many immigrant parents simply don't have time to reminisce or ponder the past with their children because they are dead tired and worn out when they get home from a hard day at work.
As I recall my childhood memories, whether triggered by something trivial like Yummy Yummy or by something more serious like the death of a family member, they are usually stories I have told myself over and over again in my head. Fortunately, my mom also was a wonderful storyteller and I spent hours and hours listening to her recount her childhood in Korea. I was fortunate in this way. These stories, like a weaved tapestry, have filled my life with rich and vibrant colors that help to define who I am.
When I was in graduate school, I happened across a book by another psychologist, Dan McAdams, entitled The Stories We Live By. This book was very life changing to me because it stressed how we construct our identities, our selves, based on narratives that thread through our past and present experiences. We make sense and meaning out of our experiences and this sense of coherence serves as a foundation for our well-being.
I guess in writing about these stories from my past (in this blog) helps me to shore up my personal narrative and reminds me of who I am and where I came from.
Posted by richlee at September 8, 2005 03:18 PMI've read it takes longer on average for Russian children to speak in full sentences (vs. American children), in part, the theory goes, due to the more complex grammatical structure of their native language (e.g. English no longer has a genative case ending, let alone masculine, feminine or neuter genders, etc.). To turn this theory a little inside out and around, I wonder how a child of color growing up with a limited VISUAL vocabulary (i.e. faces that look nothing like the child's own face and/or his or her immediate family members) matures differently in terms of earliest notions of self to society, if at all. And how this might affect memory.
Posted by: eBl at September 12, 2005 09:23 AMI am not sure about the effects of a "visual vocabulary" on early memories of children of color. There is research on the age at which children begin to notice or become aware of racial differences (4-5 years old) and begin to become aware that such differences translate into different treatment (~10 years old). Moreover, there is research (including my own) that finds that this perception of discrimination against oneself is related negatively to mental health and well-being. This holds true for children of immigrants, native born racial minorities, and transracial adoptees. So, I guess I don't really answer your question but likely will raise more questions.
Posted by: Rich at September 13, 2005 11:31 AM