Number of Siblings in Childhood Explains Cultural Variance in Autobiographical Memory in Cameroon, People’s Republic of China, and Germany

Abstract

In the present study, the authors set out to investigate whether number of siblings as a contextual ontogenetic factor can explain cultural variance in autobiographical memory (AM). After replicating the commonly found cultural differences in AM in samples from Asia (PR China, N = 77), Africa (Cameroon, N = 68), and Europe (Germany, N = 100), the authors demonstrate that the number of siblings has a substantial effect on AM variables. The cultural variance explained by the number of siblings ranges from 30% in the age of first memory to 99% in specificity and integration. These findings (a) point towards the necessity to include contextual variables in the investigation of cultural differences in AM and (b) highlight the importance of sensitive periods in early childhood for the development of AM.