Lost in transmission? Comparing emotional profiles in transmitted vs. remembered family memories.

Autobiographical memory; emotions; family; transmission; vicarious memory; Humans; Female; Male; Adult; Parents/psychology; Child; Middle Aged; Grandparents/psychology; Young Adult; Emotions; Memory, Episodic; Mental Recall; Intergenerational Relations; Family/psychology; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Psychology (all)

Abstract :

[en] This research investigated the emotions associated with intergenerational memories within families. Across three studies, we examined the perspectives of transmitters (parents and grandparents) and receivers (children and grandchildren) regarding important family memories. In Studies 1 and 2, transmitters selected memories they had previously shared with a specific family member, whereas receivers independently selected memories told by the same family member. Study 3 combined these datasets to compare emotional patterns across generations. Across studies, transmitters reported higher emotional intensity than receivers, consistent with the idea that lived experiences evoke stronger emotions than vicarious memories. Differences in valence and discrete emotions emerged depending on generational roles: grandparents' stories were less negative than parents' stories, while grandchildren recalled grandparents' stories as eliciting greater admiration, happiness, pride, and respect than children recalled parents' stories. These findings highlight how the emotional characteristics of intergenerational memories reflect both the storyteller's experiences and the receiver's perspective, and they provide new insights into the socioemotional functions of family storytelling.

Disciplines :

Theoretical & cognitive psychology

Author, co-author :

Baudet, David ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques

Bastin, Christine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Aging & Memory ; Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS), Brussels, Belgium

Luminet, Olivier ; Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS), Brussels, Belgium ; Research Institute for Psychological Science, University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

Cordonnier, Aline ; Research Institute for Psychological Science, University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

Language :

English

Title :

Lost in transmission? Comparing emotional profiles in transmitted vs. remembered family memories.

Publication date :

October 2026

Journal title :

Memory

ISSN :

0965-8211

eISSN :

1464-0686

Publisher :

Routledge, England

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

1147 - 1165

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09658211.2026.2719614

Funders :

F.R.S.-FNRS - Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research

Funding number :

#T0009.21

Available on ORBi :

since 27 September 2026

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