Collective memory and autobiographical memory: The same evolutionary basis serving group cohesion and cooperation

Abstract

Autobiographical memory allows us to remember events in the personal past, while collective memory is memories of events shared by a group. An autobiographical recollection is contextualized in subjective time, while a collective memory is contextualized in historical (non-personal) time. Despite these differences, we argue that these two types of memory share the same evolutionary roots and that they both evolved to support group cohesion necessary for widespread cooperation central to human existence. Both are constrained by shared collective values for which they serve as symbolic vehicles, and both are constructive. We provide examples of collective constraints on autobiographical memory in terms of cultural life scripts, moral beliefs, and social identity affecting the salience and retrieval of autobiographical events.