Autobiography: the negotiation of a lifetime

Throughout reminiscence and life review literature there is a prevailing tendency to interpret studies in a developmentalist perspective. Another approach to consider is the interpretive. It not only incorporates the former's insight, but also attempts to explain its inconsistencies by examining the other equally important factors operating in these studies. Following a discussion of both the developmentalist and the interpretive approach, I examine a number of studies on reminiscence and the life review. This study uses the interpretive approach, particularly Goffman's dramaturgical approach, to further understand the objective of reminiscence and to see how the social element emphasized by the interpretive approach can in fact be the deciding factor in the consequent adjustment or maladjustment of the older person.