Kenneth M. Johnson’s scientific contributions

The lifetime temporal distribution of older adults’ autobiographical memories peaks during the transitional period of late adolescence and early adulthood, a phenomenon known as the reminiscence bump. This age-specific memory enhancement suggests that transitions may provide a more general organizing structure for autobiographical memory. To test this hypothesis, we examined how older adults’ memories of events that occurred between the ages of 40 and 60 were distributed around residential relocations occurring within this same time frame. The temporal distribution of memories showed a marked relocation bump around the age of the most important residential move. Although previous research has focused on the negative effects of relocation, the current findings suggest that transitions could have a positive effect on autobiographical memory.