Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-857557d7f7-9f75d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-11-21T20:09:59.126Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 5 - Conceptualizing Cultural Life Scripts as Master Narratives

An Underestimated Tool to Explore Life Stories

from Part II - How the Environment of Autobiographical Memory Shapes the Life Story

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2025

By
Christin Camia  and
Annette Bohn
Edited by
Christin Camia  and
Annette Bohn
Christin Camia
Affiliation:
Zayed University Abu Dhabi
Annette Bohn
Affiliation:
Aarhus University
Get access

Summary

Studies investigating diverse phenomena as life story development, the reminiscence bump, emotional and important memories, and future expectations across different ages, as well as experimental and cross-cultural studies, provide converging evidence that cultural life scripts are decisive for individuals to organize autobiographical memories and future thoughts, to draft a meaningful life story, and to navigate their personal future within one’s culture. Recently, researchers have identified cultural life scripts as a type of master narrative (McLean & Syed, 2016), but both autobiographical memory and narrative identity research have overlooked the potential of conceptualizing cultural life scripts as master narratives. In this chapter, we conceptualize cultural life scripts as master narratives, possessing the five defining features of master narratives – utility, ubiquity, invisibility, rigidity, and compulsory nature. Based on the background of the substantial body of research, we propose that conceptualizing cultural life scripts as master narratives can enrich and inspire research on narrative identity approach and autobiographical memory.

Keywords

Narrative coherencelife story developmentnarrative identityautobiographical remembering

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story
New Perspectives on Narrative Identity
 , pp. 89 - 106
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Altunnar, N. H., & Habermas, T. (2018). Life narratives are more other-centered, more negative, and less coherent in Turkey than in Germany: Comparing provincial-Turkish, metropolitan-Turkish, Turkish-German, and native German educated young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2466. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02466CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anne, M., & Janssen, S. M. J. (2021). Relations between cultural life scripts, individual life stories, and psychological distress. Psychological Reports, 124(2), 521–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120913490CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berntsen, D., & Bohn, A. (2009). Cultural life scripts and individual life stories. In Boyer, P. & Wertsch, J. V. (Eds.), Memory in mind and culture (pp. 62–82). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511626999.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berntsen, D., & Bohn, A. (2010). Remembering and forecasting: The relation between autobiographical memory and episodic future thinking. Memory and Cognition, 38(3), 265–278. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.38.3.265CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berntsen, D., & Rubin, D. C. (2004). Cultural life scripts structure recall from autobiographical memory. Memory & Cognition, 32, 427–442. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195836CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bohn, A. (2010). Generational differences in cultural life scripts and life story memories of younger and older adults. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(9), 1324–1345. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1641CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohn, A. (2011). Normative ideas of life and autobiographical reasoning in life narratives. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2011(131), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.286CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bohn, A., & Berntsen, D. (2008). Life story development in childhood: The development of life story abilities and the acquisition of cultural life scripts from late middle childhood to adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 44(4), 1135–1147. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.4.1135CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bohn, A., & Berntsen, D. (2013a). Cultural life scripts and the development of personal memories. In Bauer, P. J. & Fivush, R. (Eds.), The Wiley handbook on the development of children’s memory (pp. 626–644). John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118597705.ch27CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohn, A., & Berntsen, D. (2013b). The future is bright and predictable: The development of prospective life stories across childhood and adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 49(7), 1232–1241. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030212CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohn, A., & Bundgaard-Nielsen, R. L. (2021). Not “WEIRD” but truly different: Cultural life scripts and autobiographical memory in indigenous Australia. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 10(1), 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.09.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, J. S. (2004). Life as narrative. Social Research, 71(3), 11–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camia, C. (2025). Between tradition and transition: Generational differences in Emirati life stories and life scripts. Applied Cognitive Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.70090CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camia, C., Alhallami, A. O., Alhattali, D. K., Al Hosani, B. M., & Bohn, A. (2023). Historical change in the Emirati life script. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(6), 1183–1198. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4112CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camia, C., Almansoori, M., & Grysman, A. (2023). Narrative identity, sense of self and meaning in life in Emirati and U.S.-American Women. Identity, 23(4), 347–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2023.2231982CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y., McAnally, H. M., & Reese, E. (2013). Development in the organization of episodic memories in middle childhood and adolescence. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 7, 84. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00084CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, J. T. (2014). Examining the life script of African-Americans: A test of the cultural life script. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(3), 419–426. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, J. T., Janssen, S. M. J., & Belli, R. F. (2023). A cross-cultural investigation of the reminiscence bumps for important personal events and word-cued autobiographical memories. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(5), 919–937. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4090CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conway, M. A., & Jobson, L. (2012). On the nature of autobiographical memory. In Berntsen, D. & Rubin, D. C. (Eds.), Understanding autobiographical memory (pp. 54–60). Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D’Argembeau, A., Cassol, H., Phillips, C., Balteau, E., Salmon, E., & Van der Linden, M. (2014). Brains creating stories of selves: The neural basis of autobiographical reasoning. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(5), 646–652. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst028CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erdoğan, A., Baran, B., Avlar, B., Taş, A. Ç., & Tekcan, A. I. (2008). On the persistence of positive events in life scripts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1363CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fivush, R., Habermas, T., Waters, T. E. A., & Zaman, W. (2011). The making of autobiographical memory: Intersections of culture, narratives and identity. International Journal of Psychology, 46(5), 321–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2011.596541CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grysman, A., Prabhakar, J., Anglin, S. M., & Hudson, J. A. (2015). Self-enhancement and the life script in future thinking across the lifespan. Memory, 23(5), 774–785. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2014.927505CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Habermas, T. (2007). How to tell a life: The development of the cultural concept of biography. Journal of Cognition and Development, 8(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248370709336991CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Habermas, T., & Bluck, S. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126(5), 748–769. https://doi.org/10.10371/0033-2909.126.5.748CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Habermas, T., Gruler, C., Jaeschke, N., Rapp, L., Weygandt, R., Fusser, F., & Frisch, S. (2025). The temporal organization and quality of life story memories in Alzheimer’s Disease and healthy controls. Neuropsychology, 39(3), 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000990CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Habermas, T., & Reese, E. (2015). Getting a life takes time: The development of the life story in adolescence, its precursors and consequences. Human Development, 58(3), 172–201. https://doi.org/10.1159/000437245CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammack, P. L. (2008). Narrative and the cultural psychology of identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(3), 222–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868308316892CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hatiboğlu, N., & Habermas, T. (2016). The normativity of life scripts and its relation with life story events across cultures and subcultures. Memory, 24(10), 1369–1381. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2015.1111389CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janssen, S. M. J., & Haque, S. (2018). The transmission and stability of cultural life scripts: A cross-cultural study. Memory, 26, 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2017.1335327CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janssen, S. M. J., & Rubin, D. C. (2011). Age effects in cultural life scripts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(2), 291–298. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1690CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jatau, R. R., & Kaya Kızılöz, B. (2024). The stability of life script and life story events of Nigerian young adults across religion and gender. Memory, 32(5), 587–603. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2024.2351057CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jørgensen, C. R., Berntsen, D., Bech, M., Kjølbye, M., Bennedsen, B. E., & Ramsgaard, S. B. (2012). Identity-related autobiographical memories and cultural life scripts in patients with borderline personality disorder. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(2), 788–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Köber, C., & Habermas, T. (2017a). How stable is the personal past? Stability of most important autobiographical memories and life narratives across eight years in a life span sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(4), 608–626. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000145CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Köber, C., & Habermas, T. (2017b). Development of temporal macrostructure in life narratives across the lifespan. Discourse Processes, 54(2), 143–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163853X.2015.1105619CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Köber, C., Schmiedek, F., & Habermas, T. (2015). Characterizing lifespan development of three aspects of coherence in life narratives: A cohort-sequential study. Developmental Psychology, 51, 260–275. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038668CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lavallee, A., Saloppé, X., Gandolphe, M. C., Ott, L., Pham, T., & Nandrino, J. L. (2019). What effort is required in retrieving self-defining memories? Specific autonomic responses for integrative and non-integrative memories. PLoS ONE, 14(12), e0226009. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226009CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McAdams, D. P. (2013). The psychological self as actor, agent, and author. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(3), 272–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612464657CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721413475622CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, K. C., Lilgendahl, J. P., Fordham, C., Alpert, E., Marsden, E., Szymanowski, K., & McAdams, D. P. (2018). Identity development in cultural context: The role of deviating from master narratives. Journal of Personality, 86(4), 631–651. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12341CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLean, K. C., Shucard, H., & Syed, M. (2017). Applying the master narrative framework to gender identity development in emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 5(2), 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696816656254CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (2016). Personal, master, and alternative narratives: An integrative framework for understanding identity development in context. Human Development, 58(6), 318–349. https://doi.org/10.1159/000445817CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, K. (2003). Narrative and self, myth and memory: Emergence of the cultural self. In Fivush, R. & Haden, C. A. (Eds.), Autobiographical memory and the construction of a narrative self (pp. 3–28). Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Newby-Clark, I. R., & Ross, M. (2003). Conceiving the past and future. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(7), 807–818. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203029007001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nusser, L., Wolf, T., & Zimprich, D. (2023). Bringing order to life: Temporal order effects during the recall of important autobiographical memories in young and old adults. Experimental Aging Research, 49(5), 516–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2022.2137361CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Özbek, M., Bohn, A., & Berntsen, D. (2021). A tale of two cultural life scripts: Do young second-generation Turkish immigrants versus young Danes in Denmark perceive life through different cultural lenses? Memory, 29(6), 778–792. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1948576CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Özdemir, Ç., Leichtman, M. D., Kreinces, L. J., & Pillemer, D. B. (2021). A deeper dive into the reminiscence bump: Further evidence for the life script hypothesis. Memory, 29(10), 1411–1419. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1978501CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pasupathi, M. (2001). The social construction of the personal past and its implications for adult development. Psychological Bulletin, 127(5), 651–672. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.127.5.651CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peters, I., Schmiedek, F., & Habermas, T. (2025). Narrating lives across 16 years: Developmental trajectories of coherence and relations to well-being in a lifespan sample. Developmental Psychology, 61(5), 857–874. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001775CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramsgaard, S. B., & Bohn, A. (2021). The development of past and future life stories in adolescence: Overall emotional tone, coherence and life script events. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 62, 150–158. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12691CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramsgaard, S. B., Bohn, A., & Thastum, M. (2019). Past and future life stories in adolescents with anxiety disorders: A comparison with community controls. Memory, 27(7), 998–1010. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2019.1595660CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rasmussen, K. W., & Berntsen, D. (2022). Deficient semantic knowledge of the life course: Examining the cultural life script in Alzheimer’s disease. Memory and Cognition, 50(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-021-01202-0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rasmussen, K. W., & Berntsen, D. (2023). Remembering a life: An examination of open-ended life stories and the reminiscence bump in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Memory, 31(4), 457–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2023.2169466CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roderer, A., Bohn, A., & Ann Watson, L. (2023). Retrospective future thinking: Keeping distant personal future events mentally close. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(8), 1817–1829. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218221126471CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, D. C., & Berntsen, D. (2003). Life scripts help to maintain autobiographical memories of highly positive, but not highly negative, events. Memory & Cognition, 31(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196077CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubin, D. C., Berntsen, D., & Hutson, M. (2009). The normative and the personal life: Individual differences in life scripts and life story events among USA and Danish undergraduates. Memory, 17(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210802541442CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saraiva, P., Silva, S., Habermas, T., & Henriques, M. R. (2021). The acquisition of the cultural life script: Children have a less normative and less sequential concept of the life course than adults. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18(1), 96–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2020.1768066CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1977). Scripts, goals, plans, and understanding. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Štěpánková, L., Kadlčíková, D., & Zaragoza Scherman, A. (2020). Czech and Slovak life scripts: The rare case of two countries that used to be one. Memory, 28(10), 1204–1218. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2020.1828476CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Syed, M., Pasupathi, M., & McLean, K. C. (2020). Master narratives, ethics, and morality. In Jensen, L. A. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of moral development, 499–515. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190676049.013.27Google Scholar
Thomsen, D. K. (2009). There is more to life stories than memories. Memory, 17(4), 445–457. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210902740878CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomsen, D. K. (2015). Autobiographical periods: A review and central components of a theory. Review of General Psychology, 19, 294–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000043CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomsen, D. K., & Berntsen, D. (2008). The cultural life script and life story chapters contribute to the reminiscence bump. Memory, 16(4), 420–435. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210802010497CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomsen, D. K., & Pillemer, D. B. (2017). I know my story and I know your story: Developing a conceptual framework for vicarious life stories. Journal of Personality, 85(4), 464–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12253CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tungjitcharoen, W., & Berntsen, D. (2022). Cultural life scripts across religions: The influences of religion on expectations of life events. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 14(1), 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000392CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Q. (2016). Remembering the self in cultural contexts: A cultural dynamic theory of autobiographical memory. Memory Studies, 9(3), 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698016645238CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waters, T. E. A., & Köber, C. (2018). Individual differences in personal narrative: Coherence, autobiographical reasoning, and meaning making. In Zeigler-Hill, V. & Schackelford, T. K. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of personality and individual differences (pp. 95–111). Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Wolf, T., Nusser, L., & Zimprich, D. (2025). Chronology versus centrality: Uncovering age-related differences in order effects during the retrieval of autobiographical memories. Memory, 33(3), 306–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2024.2442346CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolsey, J. L. A., Clark, M. D., van der Mark, L., & Suggs, C. (2017). Life scripts and life stories of oral deaf individuals. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 29(1), 77–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9487-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaragoza Scherman, A. (2023). Cultural life scripts. In Bietti, L. M. & Pogacar, M. (Eds.), The Palgrave encyclopedia of memory studies (pp. 1–8). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93789-8_6-1Google Scholar
Zaragoza Scherman, A., Salgado, S., Shao, Z., & Berntsen, D. (2017). Life script events and autobiographical memories of important life story events in Mexico, Greenland, China, and Denmark. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 6(1), 60–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.11.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Accessibility standard: Inaccessible, or known limited accessibility

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

The PDF of this book is known to have missing or limited accessibility features. We may be reviewing its accessibility for future improvement, but final compliance is not yet assured and may be subject to legal exceptions. If you have any questions, please contact accessibility@cambridge.org.

Content Navigation

Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.

Reading Order & Textual Equivalents

Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.

Visual Accessibility

Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×