Vicarious Memory Promotes Successful Adaptation and Enriches the Self

What is it about?

Scholarly research examining autobiographical memory has focused primarily on recollections of personally experienced events. Yet when facing challenging real-world circumstances, such as adapting to a new work environment, predicting the personal future, giving or receiving help in professional contexts, and dealing with personal failures, relying primarily on information provided by memories of first-hand experiences will often fall short. We propose that remembering specific events and detailed life stories recounted by others, termed vicarious memory, is an essential component of successful problem-solving and well-being. Vicarious memories enable individuals to move beyond a reliance on recollections of their own past experiences, and to recognize and act upon the valuable lessons contained in memories of others’ activities and life stories. Specific examples include training community health workers to use memory sharing as a tool for instructing expectant and new mothers in successful parenting practices; attending closely to co-workers’ personal stories when adapting to a new corporate culture; remembering events from close others’ life histories to enable empathic interpersonal understanding; encouraging parents to talk with their children about their extended family history as a way to promote children’s narrative identity and positive sense of self; and nurturing hope and recovery in psychiatric patients through memory sharing with peer workers who have had their own mental health challenges. Remembering and extracting lessons contained in stories told by others provide diverse perspectives that inform future behaviors, enhance decision-making, and promote interpersonal closeness, personal growth and well-being.

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Why is it important?

We illustrate the importance of remembering personal stories told by others. These memories help us make good decisions, enhance feelings of interpersonal closeness, and enrich a sense of self.