Humans have a capacity, perhaps even a need (e.g., Blinder 2007; Bruner 2002; Freeman 1993; Kenyon et al. 2001), to retrieve, articulate, and disseminate self-narratives. Memories can be seen as the building blocks of these narratives (Bluck 2003). Some factor must initiate this process, a component we call triggers. Once memories are primed, we work with them at a private or public level, a distinction we refer to as modes. Memories do not occur in a vacuum but rather are situated in various social contexts, the third category in our model. These elicited and situated memories are filtered
through a series of individual differences variables that have the power to moderate many important characteristics. Next, reminiscences serve a purpose beyond simple recall; that is, they operate to allow a person to achieve some psychosocial goal. In other words, reminiscence serves particular functions.
Finally, remembering our pasts for a specific reason (i.e., function) produces an outcome, such as bolstering a person’s sense of mastery or selfesteem. As Butler (1963) speculated, and subsequent research verified, these outcomes can be both positive and negative.