Toward the Model of Independence

Abstract

Research over the past two decades has evidenced (cross)cultural variations in autobiographical memory (AM). These variations are consistent with cultural differences in self-construal. However, research about the influence of people’s participation in specific cultural practices (e.g., schooling practices) on AM and self is needed. Our study explores some characteristics of AMs of Mexican participants with different backgrounds of formal schooling. The results evidenced differences between schooling levels in the age at the earliest memory, the content of their memories, and the personal self-focusing index. The characteristics of the AMs of the participants with more school experience are similar to those that characterize the “cultures of independence.” At a more theoretical level, our data may support the ideas proposed by Greenfield, Keller, and Kagitçibasi about the role of formal schooling (as a crucial sociodemographic factor) in promoting the developmental pathway to independence.