An explanation of the reminiscence bump in the dreams of older adults in terms of life goals and identity

Older adults tend to recall a disproportionately large number autobiographical events from late adolescence - early adulthood. The presence of such a reminiscence bump has recently been found in the contents of dreams as well. The fact that this referred life period is characterized by the development of life goals and identity could explain the prominence of associated autobiographical memories. In order to test this hypothesis, the present study examined the contents of older adults' dreams with temporal reference to that foundational period of life. These dreams were found to be characterized by contents related to personal goals and akin to the integrative type of reminiscence. These findings support the theory that personal memories of the bump period remain salient, even in the dreams of older adults, because they relate to the development of goals of the self and identity and that older adults use these "personal data'' to (re) construct a coherent and meaningful self.