Robyn Fivush

We gave them very few instructions. And we looked at how the past got reconstructed. And we discovered that this was really an important part of children learning how to narrate their own past. And also that it actually helped children increase their ability to remember the past. We found that different mothers do this in different ways, and it has a lot of...

We gave them very few instructions. And we looked at how the past got reconstructed. And we discovered that this was really an important part of children learning how to narrate their own past. And also that it actually helped children increase their ability to remember the past. We found that different mothers do this in different ways, and it has a lot of...

We gave them very few instructions. And we looked at how the past got reconstructed. And we discovered that this was really an important part of children learning how to narrate their own past. And also that it actually helped children increase their ability to remember the past. We found that different mothers do this in different ways, and it has a lot of...

Consequences not only for how children remember things, but how they feel about themselves. So mothers and children who are more elaborate and detailed in these kinds of early memory conversations have children who have higher self-esteem even very early in development. They also have higher emotional understanding because so many of the events that we talk about are emotional.

Consequences not only for how children remember things, but how they feel about themselves. So mothers and children who are more elaborate and detailed in these kinds of early memory conversations have children who have higher self-esteem even very early in development. They also have higher emotional understanding because so many of the events that we talk about are emotional.

Consequences not only for how children remember things, but how they feel about themselves. So mothers and children who are more elaborate and detailed in these kinds of early memory conversations have children who have higher self-esteem even very early in development. They also have higher emotional understanding because so many of the events that we talk about are emotional.

So I was talking with my colleague, Marshall Duke, talking about the power of these early conversations and how important it was for children to build up their own narrative story, the story of who they are. Marshall's a clinical psychologist, and he said, yeah, that's totally important. But I bet that what's equally important is how families talk about the family past, the family history.

So I was talking with my colleague, Marshall Duke, talking about the power of these early conversations and how important it was for children to build up their own narrative story, the story of who they are. Marshall's a clinical psychologist, and he said, yeah, that's totally important. But I bet that what's equally important is how families talk about the family past, the family history.

So I was talking with my colleague, Marshall Duke, talking about the power of these early conversations and how important it was for children to build up their own narrative story, the story of who they are. Marshall's a clinical psychologist, and he said, yeah, that's totally important. But I bet that what's equally important is how families talk about the family past, the family history.

Coming from the family I did, I was like, I don't think that matters as much. I really think that that's not as important. So we had this conversation and we were part of a big funded research program. We had the means to do this. We said, let's use our resources to figure this out. So that's when we decided to just tape record families talking over the dinner table to see what they talk about.

Coming from the family I did, I was like, I don't think that matters as much. I really think that that's not as important. So we had this conversation and we were part of a big funded research program. We had the means to do this. We said, let's use our resources to figure this out. So that's when we decided to just tape record families talking over the dinner table to see what they talk about.

Coming from the family I did, I was like, I don't think that matters as much. I really think that that's not as important. So we had this conversation and we were part of a big funded research program. We had the means to do this. We said, let's use our resources to figure this out. So that's when we decided to just tape record families talking over the dinner table to see what they talk about.

So we tape recorded these families and we simply asked them to just tape record a few dinner time conversations. We were not there. We just this is old technology was literally a physical tape recorder. One of those cassette recorders. Families tell stories all the time. Some reference to a past event occurs every five minutes in a typical Tuesday night spaghetti dinner.

So we tape recorded these families and we simply asked them to just tape record a few dinner time conversations. We were not there. We just this is old technology was literally a physical tape recorder. One of those cassette recorders. Families tell stories all the time. Some reference to a past event occurs every five minutes in a typical Tuesday night spaghetti dinner.

So we tape recorded these families and we simply asked them to just tape record a few dinner time conversations. We were not there. We just this is old technology was literally a physical tape recorder. One of those cassette recorders. Families tell stories all the time. Some reference to a past event occurs every five minutes in a typical Tuesday night spaghetti dinner.

And we know from other research that 40% of all human conversation is referring to past experiences. So that's what human beings do. We talk about what happened to us. And we ask other people what happened to them. We tell stories. We listen to stories all the time.

And we know from other research that 40% of all human conversation is referring to past experiences. So that's what human beings do. We talk about what happened to us. And we ask other people what happened to them. We tell stories. We listen to stories all the time.

And we know from other research that 40% of all human conversation is referring to past experiences. So that's what human beings do. We talk about what happened to us. And we ask other people what happened to them. We tell stories. We listen to stories all the time.

Most of the stories, and we're talking about, you know, a 35, 40-minute dinnertime conversation, most of the stories are what are called today I stories. So most of these table conversations were four, five people. So you're coming back together at the end of the day, and you want to weave yourself back together as a family. So a lot of it is, tell me about your day. What happened?

Most of the stories, and we're talking about, you know, a 35, 40-minute dinnertime conversation, most of the stories are what are called today I stories. So most of these table conversations were four, five people. So you're coming back together at the end of the day, and you want to weave yourself back together as a family. So a lot of it is, tell me about your day. What happened?