Memory Characteristics in Relation to Age and Community Identity: The Influence of Rehearsal on Visitors’ Recollections of the 2005 Aichi World Exposition, Japan

This study investigated autobiographical memory characteristics in relation to age and community identity using Japanese visitors’ recollections of their experiences of the 2005 Aichi World Exposition in Japan, which they had attended 4 years past. A total of 82 visitors completed a 38-item Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ). Age was grouped in 2 levels—younger adult visitors (ages 18 to 30) and older adult visitors (ages 60 to 82)—and community identity by 2 distinct community groupings—visitors from Kansai area and visitors from Aichi area. Autobiographical memory characteristics, reflected by the factors of the MCQ, were explored through analysis of variance in terms of age and community identity to determine the influence on visitors’ long-term memories of the Aichi Expo. Explanations of the significant effects include sociocultural identities that motivate recollection and rehearsal activity and lead to clear or improvised autobiographical memories of the event. Studies of episodic and autobiographical long-term memories of naturalistic, nonexperimentally contrived, everyday life events offer interesting insights for enhancing visitor experiences and understanding psychological factors that shape long-term memories (Anderson, Storksdieck, & Spock, 2007). This is because such studies provide understandings about how and why we as human beings develop and recall memories of our life experiences. Understanding the psychological factors that shape memories may then permit those who develop or provide experiences to become more informed about their design. Visitors’ age and identity, which are interrelated factors, have been shown in a number of studies to influence various characteristics of autobiographical memories. A recent line of studies, discussed below, has explored long-term memories of everyday life events using the episodic context of visitors’ leisure-time experiences at World Expositions. Anderson (2003) studied the episodic and autobiographical memories of 186 D ow nl oa de d by [ K ob e G ak ui n U ni ve rs ity ] at 1 6: 01 1 5 O ct ob er 2 01 2 Age and Community Identity on Memory Via Rehearsal visitors at Expo 1986 (Vancouver) or Expo 1988 (Brisbane) through in-depth face-toface interviews. His study concluded that the sociocultural identities of visitors—their age, life stage, personal and community values, and personal interests—at the time of the experience were critical factors that shaped memory of the expo experience and determined what visitors perceived and, ultimately, recollected of the experience years later. Anderson and Shimizu’s (2007a, 2007b) studies of visitor memories of Expo 1970 (Japan) investigated long-term memories of the event recalled 34 years later. The studies revealed that heightened emotional positive and negative affect associated with specific episodes of visitors’ experience (e.g., visiting exhibits, watching films, shared experiences with family and friends) was linked to frequent rehearsal of memories (i.e., thought back on, discussed, remembered), which, in turn, led to later retention of vivid long-term memories many years after the experience. Anderson and Shimizu (2007a) determined through multiple linear regression modeling of factors (affect, agenda fulfillment, and rehearsal) that the extent of visitors’ rehearsal of episodic and autobiographical memories (through often-told life stories, conversations, photographs, and personally meaningful souvenirs) was the most significant influence of vividness of long-term memories. However, when all factors were considered together in the multiple linear regression modeling, only rehearsal was significant (accounting for 85.9% of variance). The study is important because it demonstrates the role of affect on long-term memory development via the rehearsal mechanism. Other studies also provide evidence for the contribution of rehearsal on development of detailed, clear, and vivid memories of leisure-time events. For instance, Hamond and Fivush (1990) revealed that children who talked about their Disneyworld experience more frequently with their families subsequently recounted more information during their interview about the experience; and Stevenson (1991) and Medved and Oatley (2000) reported that engaging in conversations with friends and family about museum visits contributes to later episodic recall. Anderson and Gosselin (2008) studied personal and private long-term memories of Canadian visitors’ experiences of Expo 1967 (Montreal). They compared the memories of 25 Francophone participants from Montreal and 25 Anglophone participants from Vancouver. There were differences in the things remembered and vividness of memories, explained by the authors in terms of distinctions in sociocultural identities (i.e., who they perceived themselves to be, their personal identification with their local community, and the community values they held). Hence, the community in which participants belonged were interpreted as important for encoding and later retrieval of memories. Age, Community Identity, and Autobiographical Memory In Anderson and Shimizu’s (2007a, 2007b) studies of visitors’ memories of Expo 1970, conducted with older adults (60–85 years), no statistically significant age difference was observed. However, this finding is perhaps not surprising as younger adults were not sampled and the study was staged 34 years following the exhibition. It can be hypothesized that age may be a significant predictor of memory vividness—a view informed by the outcomes of Anderson (2003) and other recent literature, especially on the topic of memories of the self and the reminiscence bump (e.g., Rathbone, Moulin, & Conway, 2008)—which suggest that older adults might engage in more Visitor Studies, 15(2), 2012 187 D ow nl oa de d by [ K ob e G ak ui n U ni ve rs ity ] at 1 6: 01 1 5 O ct ob er 2 01 2 D. Anderson and H. Shimizu reminiscence (rehearsal of memories) and, therefore, recall more vivid memories. Older people tend to recall more personal and private memories of events from adolescence and early adulthood than other age groups. This temporal distribution of autobiographical memories is not a new finding. The literature shows childhood amnesia, indicating the failure to remember personal events from the first few years of life (0–5 years), and the recency effect indicating relatively easy success remembering recent personal events (last 5 years). That is, a contemporary investigation of memory development has revealed age as a key variable but does not exert a simple or monotonic effect on autobiographical memories (cf. Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000; Hashtroudi, Johnson, & Chrosniak, 1990). Hence, an examination of age as a variable influencing autobiographical memory warrants further research, especially on visitors’ memories of exhibitions. With these facts in mind, an examination of age as a variable influencing autobiographical memory seems highly reasonable, particularly when highly differentiated as part of the research design, that is, a comparison of distinctly different age groups. Relations between identity and memory have been addressed by Conway (1997), Anderson (2003), and Anderson and Gosselin (2008), which suggest that community belonging has a collective cultural identity that in turn shapes autobiographical memories in unique ways, particularly with regard to social events within or outside the community context. These studies are consistent with Halbwachs’s (1992) assertion that all memories are formed and organized within a collective context—as such, all events, experiences, and perceptions are shaped by individuals’ interactions with others within the collective community or society. Hence, in this study we subscribe to a context-dependent view of autobiographical memory construction, in which the society or community provides the framework for beliefs, behaviors, and recollections, which we define as community identity. Accordingly, in this study our hypothesis was two-fold. First, older adult visitors would be more likely to retrospectively reflect and rehearse memories and hence hold higher clarity of memories of the event, compared with younger adult visitors. Second, the community identity of visitors would have a bearing on the memory characteristics participants held of events, such as differences in the things remembered and the clarity of memories.