Chiara Fioretti

Why Narrating Changes Memory: A Contribution to an Integrative Model of Memory and Narrative Processes.

This paper aims to reflect on the relation between autobiographical memory (ME) and autobiographical narrative (NA), examining studies on the effects of narrating on the narrator and showing how studying these relations can make more comprehensible both memory’s and narrating’s way of working. Studies that address explicitly on ME and NA are scarce and touch this issue indirectly. Authors consider different trends of studies of ME and NA: congruency vs incongruency hypotheses on retrieving, the way of organizing memories according to gist or verbatim format and their role in organizing positive and negative emotional experiences, the social roots of ME and NA, the rules of conversation based on narrating. Analysis of investigations leads the Authors to point out three basic results of their research. Firstly, NA transforms ME because it narrativizes memories according to a narrative format. This means that memories, when are narrated, are transformed in stories (verbal language) and socialised. Secondly, the narrativization process is determined by the act of telling something within a communicative situation. Thus, relational situation of narrating act, by modifying the story, modifies also memories. The Authors propose the RE.NA.ME model (RElation, NArration, MEmory) to understand and study ME and NA. Finally, this study claims that ME and NA refer to two different types of processes having a wide area of overlapping. This is due to common social, developmental and cultural roots that make NA to include part of ME (narrative of memory) and ME to include part of NA (memory of personal events that have been narrated).

Narrating positive versus negative memories of illness: does narrating influence the emotional tone of memories?

Psychoncological studies have recognised a reduced autobiographical memory in cancer patients, furthermore cognitive studies have found that narrative is an effective instrument to re-elaborate memories. However, it is still unclear whether narrating positive versus negative events can have a different impact on autobiographical memory. The present study aims to explore the emotional experience of autobiographical memory before and after having narrated negative or positive events related to the illness. Of 63 oncological patients, 35 were selected for the present study. Participants completed a Memory Fluency Task twice, before and after having selected and narrated a positive (PN group) or a negative (NN group) memory of illness. They also had to attribute one or more emotions to each memory and to the narrative. The number of emotions and the percentage of emotional tones in both narrated and non-narrated memories were assessed. Narrated memories were more emotionally re-elaborated than non-narrated ones. Negative group participants, more than positive group ones, decreased negative emotions and increased complex ones. Authors discuss these results claiming that narrating works as a rehearsal of autobiographical memories in oncological patients and narrating negative memories eases the emotional re-elaboration of illness.

Sharing of emotional memories with a listener: differences between adolescents and emerging adults

ABSTRACT Research demonstrated a strong influence of personal narratives on emotions linked to memories. However, few studies considered shared narratives and the role of listener’s behavior, especially in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This paper aims to explore the impact of listening attitude on emotions related to memories in adolescents and emerging adults. A total of 157 participants were asked to choose a memory: in the experimental conditions (Attentive Listening, AL vs. Detached Listening, DL), they narrated it to a listener, in the Control Group, they internally reflected about it. Emotions linked to memory at the first time, to narrative/reflection, and to memory after 15 days were measured, as well as the perception of listener’s behavior. Results showed that participants perceived the differences of the listening, although adolescents perceived less listener’s detached stance. Moreover, among adolescents, positive emotions increased after narrative for both experimental conditions, instead, among emerging adults, only AL condition participants increased their positive emotions. Moreover, adults maintained the positive effects of narrative also after 15 days. Authors discussed the role of an empathic context and the adolescent egocentrism in shared narratives about personal memories.

Visit to an Unknown City: Exploring Children’s Fictional Narratives About a Tourist Experience

Results: Two types of stories emerged from children’s narrations: likelihood and non-likelihood stories. The latter were characterized by the presence of complicating actions and resolutions, villain characters, fight and achievement and were rich in typical elements of fairy tale story. Likelihood stories were characterized by the presence of play and exploration activities, parents characters and the return to home. These type of stories mainly lack complicating action, resolutions and verbal interactions. Finally, these narrations do not show dramatic features as fantasy stories. The lexical analysis of emotions revealed that non-likelihood stories show more negative affective words than likelihood ones.

Caring for children with brain tumors in an oncology ward: a phenomenologic-hermeneutic study

Brain tumors are the most common form of solid tumors in childhood and are characterized by an uncertain prognosis, often meaning tumor invasive surgical procedures in the first steps of the patient’s treatment. In a Pediatric Oncology Ward, children with brain tumors are considered a challenge for health professionals, due to the nature of the relationship between the child, the parents, and the health care providers in the initial phase of the patient’s illness. Here we present a phenomenologic-hermeneutic study, developed in the Oncology Ward of a Hospital in Southern Spain. All the caregivers of the Ward underwent interviews concerning their experience in caring for children with brain tumors. Interviews were recorded and transcribed with the consent of the participants and were analyzed by content themes. In the present paper, we focus on the experiences concerning the first meeting of the professionals with the children and their families and the principal critical issues related to the communication of the diagnosis.