Explaining change in content of life narratives over time

Aiming to further the understanding of stability and change of the life story, we investigated memory age and valence of life events as possible factors influencing life narrative stability. Additionally, we examined personal memories that 145 participants ranging in age from 16 to 69 years had told four years earlier but omitted from their current life narratives. In particular, we tested the accessibility of these omitted memories and explored the reasons for omission from life narratives. Younger age of memories but not valence predicted omission. Further, omitted memories could be remembered when aided with memory prompts. Both remembering and including life events in the current life narrative appeared to be related to personal relevance at the time of telling, supporting prior research that emphasises the role of motivation, ongoing goals, and concerns for the construction of personal narratives.