العمر، النوع، والمستوى التعلیمی وعلاقتهم بذاکرة السیرة الذاتیة لدى مجموعة من الأفراد فی المجتمع السعودی Age, gender, educational level, and their relationship to The autobiographical memory for a group of individuals in the Saudi society

Abstract

The current study examined the impact of age, gender, educational level on autobiographical memory (AM) among a sample of individuals in the Saudi society. The study sample consisted of (n = 126) participants of both sexes, who were randomly selected and are represented different age groups, as well as different educational levels. AM was measured by using an inventory prepared for the purpose of the study, and was tested for its validity and reliability. The results showed a positive and statistically significant relationship (p <.01) between the current age of the participants and the age of their remembrance, which indicates that personal memories of the individuals in the Saudi society are considered constant with either the increase in age, or differences in gender and educational level. There were also statistically significant differences (p <.01) between males and females in the average age of remembering, and the differences were in favor of females, and this is consistent with previous studies on the preference of females over males in retrieving personal memories. The results also showed that there are statistically significant differences between youth and elderly participants of both sexes in the average age of recall, and that these differences were in favor of the youth category, which means that youths are more capable than elders in retrieval of AM. The results also indicated statistically significant differences (p <.05) in the average age of remembering among the participants according to differences in their educational levels. Where those who received an education were more able to retrieve autobiographical memories from early ages. The content of autobiographical memories among participants in the current study are in line with those found in previous research, taking into account differences in social and cultural practices. The study came out with a set of recommendations based on its results, together with issues arising from those findings.